The Raven of Angels
by kriswindwalker
Summary: The black clad wizard standing in the shadows was the epitome of anger. If it were possible one could describe him as ‘Dripping anger’. The sneer grew as his black eyed glaze rested on the object of his anger. Harry bleeding Potter. hp/ss, hg/dm, oc/oc
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Mrs. Rowlings creations. Everything and everyone else however are mine.

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The tiny raven-haired girl stormed out of the small ugly run down shack that she occasionally had the privilege of calling home. She barely ducked down in time to miss the cast-iron skillet that was lobbed in the general direction of her head. She let out a tired sigh and pulled her thin black cloak around her small shoulders. People on the sidewalk stopped to stare at her as she walked past, the cloak billowing out behind her. Her appearance was that of a miniature gothic doll. The black lace up boots, her favorite pair, stopped just short of her knees. A tattered black and purple skirt hung down to her calves and the matching shirt was decorated with silver chains and safety pins. A ratty messenger bad hung off of one shoulder. Her slate gray eyes were adorned with purple and black eye makeup and her tightly drawn lips were completely black.

A woman pulled her son close to her as the girl passed. The little brown haired boy was hatefully kicking his mother in the shins and screaming for her to give his toy back. Noticing this, her black painted lips pulled up into a sneer and she continued her trek though the grungy neighborhood. Had anyone taken the time to look they would have seen that her pale skin was an ashen color and that she was painfully undernourished. Nor did they notice the slight limp in her gait. If anyone had seen her before she put her makeup on and left the house they would have seen pale, almost blue, lips and a set of color changing eyes that were far too old to be looking out of a face that young. But no one noticed and she didn't bother to inform them. Her ears were ringing and her right shoulder still throbbed from the night before. It seemed that no matter how completely shit-faced Sharon got she was still a dead aim with anything she threw. Most of the time it happened to be liquor bottles or skillets. Not that the woman could cook, mind you; it just happened that cast-iron skillets hurt a great deal when aimed at the small teen. Last night it had been a rather heavy thick-glassed whiskey bottle. When it had caught her in the shoulder she had spared a moment of thought as to what kind it was before it became unimportant and the bottle shattered on the bare concrete floor. She had to wait until Sharon and her drunken fuck buddy of the week had passed out in the living room to clean the glass up off the floor.

She shook herself out of her thoughts as she approached the entrance to the small out of the way tavern. The owners were some of the select few adults that the abnormally small fourteen-year-old girl trusted. She looked around herself in habit before she slipped into the building. The sight of Ricky Alden with a red baby dragon sitting on his shoulder, serving beer to a man clad in the most horrendous assortment of clothing that had ever graced the small tavern didn't faze her. She walked over to the bar and waited for Ricky to return.

He soon walked up, took the dragon from his shoulder, and placed it down on the seat beside her. She and the dragon locked eyes. The outside edges of her slate gray eyes turned black as the little red dragon butted its head into her hand, begging to be petted. She petted it feeling content for the moment. She never knew how long the feeling would last so she savored it, even if she didn't show it.

Ricky smiled and walked into the kitchen. He returned with a small plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and a cup of orange spice tea. He set them down in front of the girl. She looked him over. He stood at about 6'1" with slightly tanned skin, bright blue eyes, and shoulder-blade length brown hair. He looked to be in his mid to late thirties but she knew his looks were deceiving. Both he and his wife were well into their nineties.

"I figured that you hadn't eaten breakfast so I saved you some." He paused and looked her over. She knew he could feel her nervousness and fatigue no matter what she did. He was one of the few that had strong enough empathy to get though her shields and that was mainly because of his healer abilities. The other was her balancer, Ivy.

"Are you alright Ebony?" He asked. She paused in her eating. After staring at her plate for a few moments she looked up. Her eyes had changed color again. Now they were a charcoal gray color. Ricky shifted uneasily on his barstool as she studied him. Ebony, it seemed, had the rare ability to completely unnerve a person with a simple gaze. It was a trait that she got from her father if what Grandpa Albus said was true.

"Truthfully?" Ebony asked, never breaking eye contact with him. He nodded. Looking down she sighed.

"I'm tired, I'm cranky, I hurt. My lips are starting to turn blue and I've been getting dizzy for the past three days. Ivy won't be back in state for another week so my health isn't likely to improve for a while. I need sleep but with Sharon's new man whore I don't think it's safe to fall asleep in that house. And to top it all off I have to go to Scotland to get my father to sign a paper for me."

"I thought you said he lived in London." Ricky said as he refilled her tea.

"Mmm. He does but he had to stay at the school this summer. Grandpa said that he was helping to train some students on defense. I think Grandpa said his words were quote 'Attempting to stuff advanced Defense against the Dark Arts into the brains of incompetent dimwitted dunderheads will be like nailing muggle Jell-O to a tree. It won't work.' End quote." She took a sip of her tea and snorted. Damn Grandpa Albus for getting her hooked on the shit. "He gave into Grandpa's orders eventually. Albus Dumbledore is most convincing when he puts his mind to it. Grandpa seems to think that one of said students is in fact my father's soul mate. That's the other reason I'm going. Maybe I can tell. I hope so for Father's sake. It'll do him some good to finally have someone around. He can't be happy being alone all the time. It's not healthy." She sighed and stood up. "What do I owe you for breakfast?"

ROA

"Hum… I'll have to think. Give an old man a moment." Ricky said and smiled at the sight of his baby mini-dragon, Arella, winding around Ebony's legs. Arella wasn't a normal 'Alden' dragon due to a birth defect that caused her to be extraordinarily small. His best guess was that she wouldn't reach five foot fully grown. Much like Ebony, to tell the truth. The teen just barely scraped four foot ten inches. He had come to the conclusion that Ebony's small stature was due to the mixture of alcohol and potions that Sharon had consumed while pregnant with her. He, along with his wife, had been the ones to deliver Ebony and even then her size had worried them. When he came to find out what else was wrong with the girl he had wanted nothing more than to strangle the self-centered evil bitch. As it were, there wasn't a lot that he could do. Besides no one would believe that Sharon had intentionally tried to miscarry Ebony. She was a wonderful actor in that regard and it never failed to piss him off.

It had been a shock when after a month had passed and Sharon still hadn't given the poor baby a name. When Karan, Ricky's wife, had asked her why Sharon had shrugged and said she couldn't decide. Karan could smell the whiskey on Sharon from five feet away. In all her seventy-nine years of life, Karan had never seen a mother treat her child that horribly. When she suggested naming her 'Ebony Raven', Sharon had just shrugged and stumbled out the door with the words _'Sure, go ahead. You wouldn't mind watching her for a while, would you? I have some people to visit.'_ She had left without even waiting for an answer.

That was how he and his wife had come to raise little Ebony for the first five years of her life. Sure, the girl had stayed with her mother sometimes but more often than not Sharon palmed her off on them. They hadn't minded really. At least they had been able to watch out for the girl when she was with them. And besides, Ebony had never been without a playmate as he and his wife at the time already had eleven children (and many grandchildren). Granted some of them were full grown by then, but they never passed up the chance to play with the little girl. Ebony had been four when they had realized that she, like Ricky and Karan, was a Baser (or Base Caster). Ricky was pulled from his thoughts by a small slender finger poking him between the eyes.

"Before I grow old, Ricky." Her eyes were a light gray color, showing her amusement. Her eyes were like a muggle mood ring, their colors changing with her moods. Again, the strange mixture of potions she was exposed to before her birth caused this. He sighed.

"Karan just received a letter stating that a wealthy Baser of some relation to her recently died. She left Karan a library completely full of books. Any kind you can imagine. Baser, Wizarding, and Muggle. Karan is going to have to go through and sort, catalog, and restore all of them. That is where you can repay us. Help her and the kids with that and I'll forget that you owe me for this breakfast and all the meals last week." Not that he would ever make her pay him back but she tended to feel the need to pay for things when she was staying with her mother. It didn't matter how much he told her otherwise. Ebony looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"That's it?"

"You'll think that now but I'm sure later on you'll want to strangle me. It has to be done by hand, no magic. And I know a certain six year old that will want to play instead of work and guess who her _favorite_ playmate is." He said with a laugh. Ebony thought on it for a minute and then shrugged.

"It'll get me away from Sharon and the 'boyfriend'. It'll have to be next week though because I don't feel like it now. I may see if I can stay a few days at Hogwarts. Maybe I'll be able to finally get some sleep. It would be nice." She sighed. "I've got to go. Take care Ricky." She turned to leave but stopped when she heard the agitated chirping noise coming from behind her. Ebony chuckled softly.

"You too, Arella." With that she took a deep breath and quietly disappeared with a black puff of smoke.

ROA

He stood in the shadows, near shaking with anger. Even the air around him seemed to thrum with it. If it were possible, he would describe it as 'Dripping anger'. But it isn't possible. Well, maybe with a potion of some sort, he thought. If indeed there existed such a potion, he would have known about it. He wasn't the best Potions Master in Britain, possibly the youngest in the world, for nothing.

His sneer grew as his black eyed gaze rested on the object of his anger. Harry _Bleeding_ Potter. Of course he would have to give up his summer of quiet brewing and reading to teach the brat how to take care of himself. It didn't help matters that Potter's relatives had kicked him out and now they had to live in the castle together. The headmaster even had the nerve to give Potter a room in _his_ dungeons. Wasn't it enough that he had to put up with the boy during the last seven school terms? _'Now Severus, it won't hurt you to share the dungeons. There's plenty of room for everyone. He'll be closer to the training rooms and if he needs anything, you're close by.' _Sometimes he really hated that man.

"Headmaster, what kind of tea is this?" Potter asked after taking a sip of his now lukewarm tea. Severus rolled his eyes.

"Orange spice. I have a guest coming that quite enjoys it and I thought why wait? It is very good if I do say so myself." Albus smiled. Severus paused halfway through a snort.

"Albus?" His deep voice was almost a growl.

"Yes, my boy?" Albus asked as he sipped on his own cup of tea.

"_Why_ didn't you tell me she was coming? You only serve orange spice when _she_ is coming." The air crackled around him. Potter looked confused.

"Well, if I knew the tea would get you this riled up I would have requested Oreo's too. At least make it worth it." A soft voice said from the doorway.

Severus spun to look at the tiny girl standing behind him. She had his facial structure, raven black hair, and natural grace. Her nose was smaller than his was and he supposed that was a good thing. Right now she was dressed in that outlandish clothing style that Albus called 'Gothic'. He glared at her and she just stared back. Slate gray turned to charcoal gray and she sighed. Pulling out a small piece of parchment, she held it out to him.

"Well? Are you going to take it or not?" she asked as she rolled her eyes. He took it from her hand.

"What is it?" he asked, not bothering to look at it. She sighed, closed her eyes,

and brought her hands up to rub her temples. That was another thing she got from him, her hands. Long, slender, and graceful.

"You're not even going to read it, are you?" She mumbled to herself. She looked up at him. "I have some tests that I have to take and I need your signature."

"What about Sharon?" Severus sneered. She laughed bitterly and it startled him to hear such a sound coming from someone so young. Not that he let it show, of course.

"She's currently… indisposed of at the moment. Please sign it. It's not like I ask much of you anyway." She pulled out a muggle pen from the small messenger bag slung around her shoulder and handed it to him. "At the bottom. Please." He glared at her for a moment. She didn't seem to be overly impressed. In fact, she only raised an eyebrow in a startling impression of himself so he turned around and used Albus's desk as a hard surface to sign the damned note. He spun back around, shoved both pen and paper at her, and stalked to the door. Pausing, he turned to Potter.

"Nine a.m. in the potions classroom. Do not be late, Potter." With that said he then proceeded to storm down to the dungeons and to the large bottle of Firewhiskey he had for occasions such as these. Drinking made him stop thinking and right now he really didn't need those memories replaying all night in his mind. Just seeing her was bad enough. Then he remembered that he had to teach Potter in the morning. _Damnit_. This was going to be a long night. Merlin, he needed a drink.

ROA

Ebony watched as the door slammed and sighed.

"That went well." She muttered still staring at the spot where her father had stood. Really though, what had she expected? It wasn't as if the man had ever shown her any form of affection, or tolerance for that matter. As far as she could remember, neither of her parents had ever willingly touched her. Sure her mother threw things, but she never actually _touched_ her. She didn't have to. Her aim was good enough. As for her father, well, he avoided her like the plague. The only times she got to see him was when she caught him by surprise, like today. Not that she blamed them really. After what she had learned last spring during one of her mother's rare sober moments, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. She understood, though it still hurt like hell.

Shaking her head she turned to look at the boy sitting in front of Grandpa Albus's desk. He had messy black hair and bright emerald green eyes that seemed too old for a boy so young. Now _that_ was something she understood. He was… small almost. Not abnormally small like her, but she doubted he would ever reach six feet tall. The dumbfounded look on his face was almost endearing. She sat beside him and accepted the cup of tea that Grandpa handed her.

"So you're one of the poor unfortunate souls who get to spend the summer with my father?" She asked, looking over the rim of the cup at the boy. His mouth dropped.

"Father?" He squeaked. She laughed.

"Does he do tricks too Grandpa or is parroting all he can manage?" She asked the old man sitting behind the desk. Today his robes were neon blue decorated with dark yellow stars. They were a bit painful on the eyes, truth be told. His long white beard and hair was tucked into his belt. He chuckled.

"Harry, meet Ebony Snape. Ebony, this is Harry Potter. He does do a rather good impression of a fish, right Harry?" The boy's mouth closed with a click. She giggled and held out her hand. He took it hesitantly and she rolled her eyes.

"I don't bite _that_ hard. It's nice to meet you by the way." Her American accent seemed so out of place here, she noted absently.

"Snape's _really_ your father?" _My, he's thick, isn't he?_ She sighed and dropped his hand.

"Yes, however reluctant he is about it."

ROA

She said the last part so softly that Harry had to lean forward to hear it. This certainly would be interesting news to Ron. Who knew _Snape_ would have a daughter? Maybe this could work out to his advantage_. Watch it, your Slytherin stripes are showing, Harry._ Her dark gray eyes narrowed at him as he thought that. He watched as her irises turned completely black, the line between color and pupil disappearing. The room started to vibrate with raw power. So much so that Dumbledore had to jump up and catch a crystal ball before it rolled off his desk. Power was radiating off her in violent waves. Cracks started to appear in the windows and various other glass objects around the office. Wow, so he wasn't the only one who did that to the Headmasters office.

"Don't you _dare_ use this against him. He may not be overly fond of me but I will not have you fucking with him. _Do you understand me?_" She almost growled as the teapot on the desk next to him exploded into a million tiny shards. Can she read minds? He swallowed and nodded his head. She was bloody scary for such a tiny girl. She stared at him for a second before the power receded and she looked around the room. Taking in the damage she sighed and held out her hand. Within seconds, everything was repaired. Wand-less magic. Now there was something that would come in handy during battle. _I wonder if Snape can do wand-less magic too? _Harry made a mental note to ask later and turned his attention back to the girl.

"Sorry Grandpa." She said softly. Albus smiled sadly and placed the crystal ball back on his desk.

"I understand, Ebony. Just try not to lose control again." She nodded and looked back at Harry.

"Look, Harry. The events surrounding my conception are… _disturbing_ to say the least and neither of my parents deserved what happened to them. I can't tell you what happened exactly as that's not my place. Just know it was traumatic for the both of them and it's affected them in ways that you couldn't even begin to comprehend. Or…" She tilted her head to the side. "Maybe you can. I ask that you don't bring this up with him. In fact don't tell _anyone_ what I just said. He would be rather angry if he found out. I'm sure you've had enough classes with him to know about his temper." She smiled crookedly. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Boy, have I. Alright, I won't say anything. Promise."

"Thanks. Grandpa Albus, would it be okay if I spent a few nights here. I'm tired and I find I sleep really well here. Pleeeeasssse." She asked as she turned light gray puppy dog eyes towards Albus. Albus chuckled and nodded.

"Go ahead. Call the house elves if you need anything. I trust that you can find your rooms by now?" Ebony nodded.

"Yup! I'm fully capable of getting lost all by myself now. Bye Grandpa. Bye Harry. I'll see you both later." She stood up. "And by the way Grandpa, you're right. I can feel it." Ebony said and walked quietly out of the office.

ROA

Harry shook his head in an attempt to clear it after what had to be the most bizarre meeting he had ever experienced. Considering whom Albus Dumbledore was made the previous statement hard to believe.

He walked down the strangely empty halls. It was hard to associate this hollow, echoing castle with the noisy student-filled school that he had lived in for ten months out of the year for the last seven years. The differences gave the normally comforting school a stagnate lazy feeling. Harry didn't like it. It vaguely reminded him of his summers at the Dursley's. Well, minus the yelling and bruising, and the cuts and broken bones. Minus Vernon Dursley mostly.

Now those were some memories he could live without. The summer had started out as it normally had. Only the occasional fist or frying pans. In the past, pre-Hogwarts, things had been much more physical. After he had gotten his letter they seemed to lessen up on him. A little. Oh, they still didn't feed him more than bread and water every few days and of course he had to do all the chores around and outside the house, but at least they didn't hit him as much.

Until this summer, that was. It seems Vernon had caught wind that Sirius Black was, in fact, dead. Had been for over two years actually. That was when his uncle had done something that Harry had always thought he was too frightened to do. His uncle had raped him. He remembered that night with with a strange sort of detached clarity.

_He sighed as he finished his chores for the night. His uncle had been watching him with a weird glint in his eyes all night. He had just opened the door and walked into his sad excuse of a bedroom when he felt the blow to the back of his head. When he woke up he was face down on the floor. Uncle Vernon loomed over him with that same strange gleam in his eyes and it sent shivers down his spine. 'What…' was all he got out before Vernon's foot made contact with his side. The following crack told him that at least one if not two of his ribs had just snapped. He was contemplating how he was going to explain this when he realized his problems had just gotten worse. Vernon was kneeling at his side. As his face was smashed down into the floor he heard the sound of a fly being unzipped. That was when he realized exactly what was happening. He started to struggle but then Vernon hit him in the side of the head and he fell limp. Harry's vision started fading and the last thing he could remember was the feeling of being ripped apart from the inside. Then his world went black._

It had been two days later when someone had finally found him. He wasn't sure whom it was that found him. He thought it might have been Authur Weasley. Well, whoever it was that had brought him to Hogwarts didn't know the full extent of his injuries. Madame Pomfrey told him that he had been bloody and bruised from head to toe. He had also had so many broken bones that it took her all night to get him back in some semblance of order. She hadn't told anyone, other than Dumbledore, about the rape. She said it was too personal and until he was ready to deal with it, it was really no one else's business.

He was in a hazy sort of denial, he knew that much. He still hadn't broken down but he knew that when he did it would be a sight to behold. Right now, it still felt like it had happened to someone else, not him. In fact he really wasn't feeling much of anything. Earlier today, in the Headmasters office, was the first he had truly felt anything since he had woken up in the infirmary. Ebony was strange to say the least and he wasn't sure how to react to her. The genuine surprise that he had felt at finding out that Snape of all people had a child had been refreshing. Then again the twinge of fear when said child let her magic loose had startled him. Now that he thought about it, she was the only one other than him, that he had ever seen do that in their anger. Sure, Dumbledore was quite the frightening character when enraged, but even _his_ wild magic didn't threaten to bring down the entire castle. He was sure that had Ebony not gotten a grip on her fury that was exactly what would have happened.

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he walked into his quarters. He was grateful that the Headmaster had given him a dungeon room for the summer. It was a lot cooler down here. Harry sighed and started getting ready for bed. This summer would be bad enough with Snape having to teach him, he probably shouldn't make the man mad by falling asleep during his lessons. With that thought he crawled into bed and fell into a fitful slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Mrs. Rowlings creations. Everything and everyone else however are mine.

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Severus awoke in a cold sweat. _Damn that girl._ Every time she showed up, his nightmares returned. Always with the same feeling of utter helplessness. If there was one thing that Severus Snape hated most, it was losing control. As the memories of that day resurfaced so did the nausea associated with them. He threw back the black cotton sheets and ran to the bathroom. As he emptied his stomach of what little he had eaten for dinner the night before, a wave of panic came over him. Albus had fire-called him last night, before he finally passed out from the alcohol, and told him that Ebony was going to be staying at the castle for a few days. Last night it didn't really register what that meant but it hit him with the force of a hippogriff today. He was going to have to see _her_ again.

It wasn't that he actually _hated_ Ebony, she really hadn't done anything to him. No, it was the memories he hated. Every time he looked at her all he could see was his weakness, his mistake. He should have been able to stop it but he couldn't. He tried. He should never have let his guard down. Every time he thought about it he was reminded of his school years. Always the butt of someone's joke. Mainly it was James Potter and his sidekicks. The day that Potter had disarmed him and hung him upside down for all the world to see had been one of his worst non death eater nightmares, right up there with his mother's death. Until that day fifteen years ago. The shame and anger he felt at James Potter that day had been nothing compared to this. This was something he had only shared partially with Albus. He had told no one who it was that had done that to the two of them and he wasn't sure he ever would. He had obliviated the bastard afterwards and left as quickly as he could.

He shook his head and headed to the cabinet in the bathroom. He grabbed the hangover potion. It was days like this that he gave thanks to whatever deity would listen for his talent in potions. Downing it he then trudged into his rooms to get ready for the day.

ROA

Ebony walked into the Great Hall at 8:15 that morning. Spotting an empty seat next to Harry she quickly sat down and looked around. Her father wasn't here but she didn't expect him to be. Grandpa was bound to have informed him that she was staying so naturally she wouldn't see him for the rest of her visit. Looking over at Harry she noticed that he was picking at his food. It seemed that his mind was elsewhere this morning. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept at all last night. She nudged him with her shoulder.

"Rough night?" She asked softly. Harry idly stabbed a sausage with his fork and sighed.

"Mmm. I slept but there was no rest. M'not sure if that makes sense or not." He said tiredly. Ebony nodded her head. She knew exactly what he meant. She had slept well, but having spent almost a full month away from her balancer meant that her health was declining. No matter how well she slept or how much she rested, she was still tired.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. That sausage will be mush soon if you don't stop picking at it. Typically, people _eat_ their breakfast instead playing with it." She replied as she took small portions of eggs and toast onto her plate. She knew if she ate anymore that it would just come back up. She was dizzy again this morning and her vision had a tendency to swim violently.

She swallowed a bite of egg and toast and had to fight back the urge to vomit. Maybe she was going to have to break down and call Ivy home from her vacation. Ivy and her family had gone to Denver, Colorado to visit her Grandmother and Grandfather. She had told Ebony to call her home as soon as she started feeling sick but Ebony didn't want to disturb her visit. Goddess knew she was needy enough. Ebony had thought she would be able to handle a month apart but it seemed as though her health was starting to deteriorate quicker now without Ivy near. _Great_, now she was dizzy again.

She pushed her plate away from her and rested her head down on the table. She felt herself break out into a cold sweat and her stomach started doing sickening flip-flops. She concentrated on breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. She could feel her heart pounding irregularly. She heard Grandpa Albus calling her name.

"Ebony, are you alright?" He sounded worried and for some reason Ebony found that funny. She would have laughed but she feared that if she did what little she just ate would reappear. Instead she managed to get out a moan that sounded remarkably like 'No'. As the half-giant, Hagrid picked her up, the only thing she wanted was to lie down and sleep. Goddess, why couldn't she be a normal fourteen-year-old girl for once?

ROA

The scent of disinfectant potions burned her nose as she struggled up through the many layers of darkness that she was floating in. _Ugh, the infirmary_. She had been to dozens of them and they _always_ smelled the same. Ebony felt an arm wrapped around her waist and a decidedly female body pressed against her back and could only assume that Ivy had been brought to her. Mentally cringing, she knew who else would be there as well. She heard someone shift beside her bed but feigning a coma was a much more appealing idea at the moment.

"I know you're awake, Ebony. You may as well open your eyes. I don't think Ivy will be any happier with you either way." Ricky's amused voice flowed over her. Ebony opened her eyes and looked up at him. His voice may have been amused but his icy blue eyes said differently. He was upset to say the least. This time she actually did cringe.

"Sorry. I didn't think it was that bad." Her voice was slightly scratchy. Ricky reached over to the side table and picked up a glass of water. He waved his hand over the glass and a straw appeared. She sighed when she saw that. Of course she would be too weak to hold onto the drink. She snorted in disgust at the thought. As if being unnaturally tiny with freakish color changing eyes wasn't enough, she had to be fucking weak as well. Ricky held the straw up to her lips and she growled before latching onto it and taking a few deep drinks. Ricky set the glass back down and sighed.

"Ebby, I know it's frustrating but you can't just ignore your health. _Especially you._ What happens if I can't get to you for some reason? I could circumvent the runic wards here easy enough, but next time I may not be able to. You have to _think_ Ebby. Not only do you have to watch out for your health but you have Ivy's as well. When she got to my house she was almost too weak to stand. You _have_ to remember her as well. She depends on you just as much as you depend on her." Ricky sat back in his chair and rested his chin on his hands. Ebony closed her eyes and groaned softly.

"I hate it. I just want to be normal." She muttered softly. The arm around her waist tightened and she leaned back into Ivy's embrace.

"I like you how you are. You scared me… us. Mom told you to call me when it got too bad. Why didn't you?" Ivy's warm breath ran across Ebony's neck as she spoke causing Ebony to shiver.

"You needed to be with your family. I didn't want to disrupt your time with them." Ebony said and looked down at the white sheets covering the bed that they were on. _Why did all infirmaries have to have the same white bedclothes? Why not black?_ She resisted the sudden urge to rip the offending sheets to shreds.

"Liar. You didn't want to be seen as weak." Ivy mumbled as she sat up on the bed. Ebony sighed but didn't bother to answer. Besides, deep down she knew Ivy was right.

Looking towards the doors of the infirmary she locked gaze with a set of onyx colored eyes. Her father sneered, turned, and stalked away. She gulped, trying to force the sudden overpowering feeling of loneliness back down. There was a pain in her chest that for once wasn't due to her condition. She mentally shook herself. She had Ivy, Ricky, and Ricky's family. _I suppose that will just have to do._

ROA

Ricky sighed as he walked out of the infirmary. He had just gotten the both of them back to sleep. Ebony would have to rest more before he could take them home. He yawned and walked to a window to look out over the countryside. It had been about four thirty in the morning when the monitor that he had placed on Ebony went off. He had practically fallen out of bed when a pulse in the wards around his home let him know that Ivy was trying to get in. He had quickly thrown on a pair of pants and a T-shirt then _Itoared _to the front door of his home. It would have taken him more time than he wished to spare to actually walk to the door. When he opened it Ivy had stumbled and fell to the floor. She was pale and shaking and he knew what had happened. He helped her up and pulled her into a hug. Reaching through Ivy's link to Ebony he had _Itoared_ the both of them all the way to Scotland. He felt the wards as they came up to the castle and had quickly bent and picked his way through them so that they didn't send up any alarms. Runic ward bending was taught to every second level basecaster so it had been no problem to get through.

They had just entered the castle when they saw what had to have been a half-giant carrying a pale unconscious Ebony quickly through the halls. Following him was a black haired boy and an old white haired wizard. The old wizard turned to look at the two of them. The puzzled look on his face lasted only a split second before his wand was out and trained on the both of them. Ricky had stopped and held his hands up but Ivy and screamed and ran after the giant. The old man lowered his wand.

_"You must be Mr. Alden then?" _He had asked.

_"Yes and right now I need to see to both Ebony and Ivy. They have spent too much time apart. Will you take me to them?" _The wizard had nodded then looked over to the black haired boy. The boy's bright emerald eyes had looked worried.

_"Mr. Potter, I do believe you have a meeting with our resident Potions Master soon. You may wish to be on time for that." _The boy had looked startled. Ricky had sensed something slightly off with him. When he had delved a little deeper he had found out that the boy had recently been raped. Ricky shook himself out of his memories. _Poor boy. _From what he could tell it had been a family member that had done that to him. That kind of thing left scars on both your aura _and_ mind. From the sporadic pulses in the boy's magic Ricky could also tell that he had yet to actually _deal_ with it as well.

Ricky snorted. That was something he truly couldn't understand. _Why_ would families do such things to each other? Family was the most important thing to a basecaster. _'Be true to your own.'_ In fact the importance of family was the first thing a basecaster was ever taught. It made him sick to watch these families destroy themselves. He couldn't count the times that Karan had to physically hold him back from going after Sharon. Ebony had more concussions and broken bones growing up than most wizard aurors had in their entire lives. In fact he had healed her fractured collarbone and the sprained tendon in her foot while he was in the infirmary with her. He had known about it before she had left for Scotland but he knew that she wouldn't ask for help. Didn't mean he liked letting her go like that though. She was too damned stubborn for her own good sometimes. Of course she had to be to make it this long. He shook his head. He could only hope that her luck held out and would never have to live through a rape as well. It worried him with all the random men that Sharon would bring home. But there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it.

He felt the prickling on the back of his neck that he normally got when Ebony was staring at him and turned around. Standing behind him was a tall pale man with long raven colored hair. His nose was large and crooked probably from being broken when he was younger and his pale lips were drawn tightly into a sneer. Something about his appearance didn't feel quite right though. Ricky stored that in the back of his mind for later and continued looking him over. The hand that was gripping an ebony colored wand was long and graceful and even though bigger, very familiar.

It was, however, the man's eyes that were the dead giveaway. Piercing black eyes. Ebony wasn't kidding when she said that her talent for unnerving people came from her father. The man's eyes narrowed as he noticed Ricky looking him over.

"Potions Master Snape, I assume?" Ricky asked quietly.

"Yes. Who are you?" The deep voice drawled. If anything that Ebony had said about this man was true, it was highly unusual for him to be so tactless. The man's shields were as good as Ebony's but only those around his thoughts and emotions. His aura was wide open if one knew how to look. Out of habit and, if he admitted to himself, self-preservation he looked over the man's aura quickly. It was amazing what one could learn about a person just by being able to do that. What he found shocked him. _Hmm. He and Mr. Potter may have more in common than they know._

"Ricky Alden. I'm Ebony's healer. I've been taking care of her since she was born." He could tell from the sudden shift in the aura surrounding the man that Ebby's visit had shaken him up. He thought he understood the basic reasons why but he would have to talk to Ebony later to be sure.

He sighed and turned back to the window. Scotland really was a beautiful place. He and his wife would have to vacation here sometime in the future.

"Don't worry. If it means anything, she'll be well enough to travel in a few hours and then I'll take her home." He paused trying to decide whether or not to finish his thoughts. _Ah hell, why not?_ "You know, I've found that if something is bothering you to the point of causing sickness it can be a good thing to talk about it with someone who's been through similar situations. All the magic and medicine in the world can't heal some scars. Only time and perhaps a sympathetic ear can do that. Think about it." Ricky finished quietly and left in search of the man in the lime green robes. The man Ebby called 'Grandpa Albus' despite there being no actual relation. As he walked away he couldn't see the brief look of pain and self-loathing that flickered across the dark man's face. He didn't have to. He could feel it.

ROA

"Ah, Mr. Alden." Albus said as he noticed the man leaning against the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to his office. The man straightened as Albus approached him. Taking a brief moment to study his guest Albus could feel the quiet power that radiated off this man. Ricky Alden, powerful, well respected empathic healer, father of thirteen, and the sole reason Ebony Snape survived to the age of seven without her soul-mate. Considering most children born with Ebony's condition never lived past the age of three even with the best healers that the Wizarding world had to offer said something for this Base Caster's abilities. The man nodded in acknowledgement of his name.

"Ricky please. There is an over abundance of people named 'Mr. Alden' in this world. I was hoping to have a word with you, Headmaster." Ricky requested. Albus smiled.

"Call me Albus. There is no need for the formalities between us. Please come to my office and we can speak there." He whispered the password and waited as the gargoyle jumped aside to allow them passage.

When they had settled into the plush chairs in front of his fireplace, Albus called for a house elf and asked for tea and biscuits. While they sipped their tea Albus used the time to study Mr. Alden up close. Ebony had said that Mr. Alden didn't look his age but this surprised him. He knew from her letters and previous visits that he was somewhere in his mid-nineties. Sharp blue eyes looked out of a face that appeared to be less than thirty five years old. The tight shirt and jeans revealed a body that was at the peak of its prime. His long dark brown hair was pulled back in a low hasty ponytail and strangely enough his feet were bare.

Albus was pulled from his musings by the _chink_ as Ricky set his cup on its saucer. Ricky motioned to his feet.

"I forgot them this morning, my shoes. Didn't realize that I was barefoot until I was on my way to your office." His American accent drawled. "It's not that uncommon for me to forget them when I'm in a hurry. Most people don't even bother to say anything anymore." He said as he stretched and yawned.

"I'm sure there was a reason for this meeting, Ricky, perhaps we should start on that?" Albus suggested. He was curious as to what this man had to say.

"Ah, yes. First of all. I would like to apologize for bending your wards to get in here this morning. It was rather rude but I'm afraid that I felt that I had no choice. Ebony didn't have the time."

"Bending the castle's wards? What exactly do you mean?" Albus hoped to Merlin that it wasn't a weak point in the wards. They couldn't afford that right now.

"Mmm. Think of your wards as a rug. To the naked eye it appears to be a solid structure but as you look closer you see that it is made of many different strings woven together. At the ends of the many strings there are knots that hold them in place. Your wards are no different. There are many different strands of magic woven together and held in place by runes. Now if one were to separate two of those strings or strands they could move through without truly effecting the entire structure or the runes. It's basic runic ward bending. The difference between it and wizarding spell bending is the way it's done. Wizards have to spell bend using other runic based magic while runic ward bending is done on sheer force of will. We don't use rune bases with our magics." He paused and snorted. "Sorry, off topic. But anyway. I did put the wards back exactly as they were once we got though. They are still just as solid and I saw no problems with them. Do you have any other questions? I should have about another hour before Ebony and Ivy are awake." Ricky took another sip of his tea.

Albus thought about what he said. He was starting to think that Ebony had left out some things in her letters. Come to think of it he had wondered at times how she had gotten her letters to him. They often just appeared on his desk while he wasn't there and at first it had annoyed him to no end that he had never caught her putting them there. Oh, the wards would alert him that the letter had arrived but still…

He sat back and rested his chin on his clasped hands. There _were_ a few things that were bothering him.

"Even after getting past the wards how did you walk up to us without me detecting you?" Truly, the only reason he had known that they were there was the muffled cry that Ivy let out upon seeing Ebony. Ricky looked at Albus for a minute before answering him.

"We were dampening our signatures. It tends to be second nature to do it when we enter a strange place. Not overly complicated really. Most wizards and witches can be trained to do some form of it. Though if a baser were around them while they were doing this I'd almost guarantee that they would be able to feel them anyway." Ricky sighed and looked around the office at the portraits. Albus followed his gaze and noticed that most of them, the ones that weren't sleeping, looked incredibly upset over something. Albus looked over at Ricky with an eyebrow raised in question. Ricky shrugged.

"I haven't let them hear anything we've said since we entered this office. I suppose that's what's got them all riled up. 'Take care of your own'. I have a rather large family Albus. I won't put them at risk." He said softly. Albus blinked. He hadn't felt any different magic being worked and it made him uneasy. Apparently Ricky picked up on it and changed the subject. "Did you know that you have two Wizard Base Casters in this castle right now?" Albus turned his full attention back to him.

"Wizard Base Casters?"

"Base Casters brought up as wizards. Most never know that they are basers. They tend to be extraordinarily powerful and talented witches and wizards." Ricky said and took a sip of tea. Albus had to admit that he was confused. Base Casters that were powerful enough to use a wand? All of the information that he had found of Basers was of the opinion that they were little more than Squibs. Limited mainly to elemental magic, healing, and divination. He had always just assumed that Ebony was an exception. Albus noticed that Ricky was smirking at him.

"I'm missing some key information on base casters, aren't I? Ebony isn't an exception?" He asked dryly. Ricky chuckled.

"Nope, sorry. And yes, most of the wizarding world in general is and we would like to keep it that way. The less the world knows about us, the less they fear us, and the safer we are. I trust that nothing spoken of here today will leave this office." He said softly. Albus blinked and nodded. The man was protecting his family and Albus fully understood.

"Would you mind telling me who the two wizard basers are?"

"Hum…" Ricky set his cup down. "It's not often that a baser is born from parents who have no family history of base casters present. It's not so much about blood and genetics, though that does play a large part, as it is how the person's magic develops. A wizard's magic has to be channeled through objects and runes to be truly useable and reliable. Baser magic is wild in nature. It's a bit like your accidental magic actually, which is why it is often confused for such. As a baser grows they are taught how to work magic using sheer will. Normally, wizard baser's magic is explained away as accidental magic or… as something completely unexplainable. You tell me who fits that."

"Well, Severus's magic tended to be… wild when he first got here. In fact I think it still is to a point and he has learned how to hide it. Tell me, is it possible for a base caster to survive the killing curse?"

"Very much so." Ricky said nodding.

"Ah. Well, that helps explain how Harry survived and his wild bursts of magic." Albus nodded to himself. "If what you're saying is true, would the two of them be able to beat Voldemort using Baser magic?"

"If the two of them work together they could beat him, yes. But they would have to be trained at a rapid pace. Most of our children start learning magic as soon as they show it for the first time. They would be behind but I think they could catch up. Both Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape seem to be incredibly strong so power isn't a problem. They would have to be willing to join minds with someone for short periods of time for training though and I'm not to sure how they would take that." Ricky paused to think for a moment and Albus took the time to ask some questions.

"Joining minds? What would that do?"

"Well, it's not something we do on a regular basis. What it would do is give them a crash course in using their senses. We can also pass along knowledge that way if need be. When our children start using magic they are trained to make use of their senses. Like feeling magic in its raw form. We can feel runic-based magic as well. Wards are a good example of that. Actually, the ability to feel raw magic is key to our casting. Severus and Harry will have to be trained to feel, see, and manipulate magic in an entirely different way and by joining minds with another base caster they could learn that much faster." Ricky snorted and leaned back in the chair. "And if Severus is anything like Ebony, and I believe he is, he's not going to like letting down his shields. Getting her to let down any of her shields is like pulling teeth. It's a fight every time. Of course, I don't blame her. I have some of my own. I have to keep them up or my empathy has a tendency to drag me into other people's emotions. That's a pain in the ass let me tell you."

"Would you be willing to help train them then? We really do need all the help we can get right now. This war is taking its toll on everyone." Albus said as he rubbed his temples. He'd had a headache all morning and just thinking of what all was going on just because the ministry was too proud to admit that there was indeed a threat, didn't help. Ricky set his biscuit down and stood. He walked over and held out his hand.

"May I?" He asked. Albus looked up at him confused. "Your headache." Ricky elaborated. Albus nodded and Ricky placed his hand on his right temple. A comforting warmth spread through his body and he felt the throbbing headache disappear. As Ricky sat down Albus also noticed that the dull pain in his left knee caused by arthritis had also vanished. Ricky smirked at the amazed look and returned to his biscuit. He finished and turned his full attention back to Albus. Albus noted that Ricky's eyes were quite an unusual shade of blue, almost glowing.

"Now I have only a short while before the girls are awake so here is my offer…"

ROA

Ebony was sitting up in bed lacing her black knee-high boots when Ricky walked in. Even though she still wore the thick gothic makeup, he could see some of the color coming back into her fair complexion. Ivy was standing, staring out of a nearby window. Her almost clear blue eyes and vivid red hair stood out against the stark white of the infirmary. Her eyes were unfocused and her breathing was slow. _She must be having a vision. _

Ivy came from a long line of 'Old' seers. People who _knew_ things. Past, Present, or future, it didn't matter. They didn't just have prophecies like most seers now days, they actually _saw_ what was happening. The best description he had been given was to think of it as another time over lapping the present. Ivy could be looking at this ward and be seeing Ebony and himself and at the same time she would be seeing something that happened hundreds of years ago. Like ghost figures. Her next words sent a chill down his spine.

"We don't have much time left, Ebony. Our end is coming. Soon there will be a battle here. And it will be terrible." She paused and looked at Ricky. "When do they start training?" Ricky noticed that she had tears pooling in her eyes but said nothing.

"Very soon. Plans are underway. Come now, you two need rest and I would rather leave while Madame Pomfrey is gone. I'm too tired to deal with her second-guessing me. I've done it once today and don't feel like doing it again. Ivy, could you get Ebby's bag please?" He left out the fact that infirmaries made him uneasy. The smells gave him a headache and being in a place that centered so much on sickness made him slightly nauseous. The left over energies also tended to wreck havoc on his empathy. The east wing of his home, devoted most to healing, got a thorough cleansing once a month whether it needed it or not. The Headmaster was waiting on them at the front gates.

"I will be back Monday for the meeting, Albus." Ricky yawned. "Right now, we all need sleep so we'll be on our way." The Headmaster nodded and looked down at Ebony.

"I hope you're feeling better soon. Remember that I'm here if you ever want to just talk." He said as they walked towards the ward edges. "And thank you for those delightful candies you sent me last month. The fizzing part was the best." Ebony laughed softly. Ricky could tell she was still exhausted.

"I thought you might find those amusing. I'll be sure to send you more then." They stopped and she turned and wrapped her arms around the old man. "Thank you Grandpa Albus. I'll see you soon." She stepped away and together with Ivy, Itoareated home. Albus raised an eyebrow in question and Ricky smiled.

"I'll explain later." He turned to look in the shadows behind them. Bright blue found onyx. "Until next time, Master Snape." He said and then disappeared in a small cloud of black smoke.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Mrs. Rowlings creations. Everything and everyone else however are mine.

* * *

"What?"

Albus looked at the people gathered around his office. Severus stood in a dark corner by the door, scowling. Harry sat between Miss. Granger and the youngest Weasley boy, looking for all the world completely disconnected and uninterested. Some days were worse than others for him and today seemed to be one of them. He mentally winced when he thought about how badly he had failed the both of them. He hoped that whatever Ricky Alden planned to do, it involved a chance for both Harry and Severus to heal. Merlin knows they deserve it. Neville Longbottom was shooting nervous glances at the Weasley twins across the room. They had been grinning and whispering to each other ever since he had told them about his and Ricky's plans. Albus couldn't help but wonder at how well the Alden family would take to the twins. It would be interesting, that was for sure. Miss. Lovegood sat on the chair next to Neville reading the latest edition of the Quibbler. Albus was overly found of Luna. She reminded him of one of his childhood friends who sadly, didn't live to see adulthood.

He turned his attention to the most awkwardly out of place person in the room, Draco Malfoy. The boy's face and arms were still littered with cuts and dark bruises. Under Draco's shirt were even more cuts, many of them deeper as well. Apparently, Lucius Malfoy didn't take well to the idea that his only child refused to join Voldemort. Most of the lacerations on Draco's body appeared to be from a cane but he refused to say for sure. Madam Pomfrey had healed as much as she could but most of the wounds refused to heal completely. Both Albus and Severus knew who had done it but couldn't do anything until Draco admitted it. He had apparated to the gates of Hogwarts two days ago drenched in blood. Severus had taken his godson in and given him the spare bedroom in his quarters. Lucius had publicly disowned Draco at that point.

"Headmaster?" Hermione asked softly.

"Yes, Miss. Granger?" Albus asked and popped a blue raspberry 'Warhead' into his mouth. He made a face as the initial sour flavor hit his tongue soon followed by a sweet fizz.

"You said that we would have time to study for our entrance exams over the summer. How are we supposed to do that when we're spending the whole summer in a base caster home?"

"Ah, I believe that Mr. Alden has secured us the use of… how did he put it? 'A library that any college student, muggle or magic, would give their left kidney to use.' Those were his words. I don't believe it will be a problem."

"My parents may not like me going to the states and spending the summer with strangers. I know I'm of age, but I still don't want to worry them." Hermione said.

"Would it help if my husband and I were to come over and meet with your parents first?" A new voice joined the conversation. Everyone turned to see the new arrival. The voice belonged to a woman with aqua blue eyes, curly golden blond hair, and lightly tanned skin. She stood at about five and a half feet tall and had a peaceful air about her. She was wearing a light blue summer dress that stopped just short of her knees and sandals. She focused her aqua gaze on Albus.

"I am sorry Headmaster Dumbledore. There was an emergency and my husband couldn't make it. He sent me instead. I'm Karan Alden." Her American accent was strong but pleasant. Like Ricky, Albus hadn't been alerted when she had passed through the wards. It made him a bit uneasy actually. He normally knew where everyone in the castle was at all times, but apparently Mr. and Mrs. Alden had no trouble sidestepping the wards.

"Ah, you'll have to excuse me for having to ask this, but Ricky gave me a question to ask in case someone had to come in his place. Where does Ricky tend to put his shoes when he thinks no one is looking?" Several heads turned to look at Albus like he had lost his mind. Mrs. Alden let out a frustrated sigh.

"That man, I swear! He shrinks them down and sticks them in his pocket. Really, if it weren't for me, he'd never wear shoes!" She wrinkled her nose before snickering. "I guess I'm not as angry as I make out to be… I've stayed with him for near seventy seven years."

"Please, have a seat Mrs. Alden. We were just discussing study arrangements." Albus said and motioned her to the seat to the side of his desk. She nodded and walked across the room to take her seat. He noticed that she was wearing an anklet of bells that sounded like broken glass falling to the ground. It was a pleasant sound but it made him even more uneasy that he hadn't heard her come through the door. She smiled at him.

"I've worn these since I was a small child. My parents taught me how to walk without them making noise." She said softly then looked to Hermione. "Would you feel better if we spoke to your parents first? They are welcome to visit our home for themselves if that would make them comfortable. _Anyone_ who wishes to do so is welcome." Hermione seemed to think on it for a minute then nodded her head.

"That would be good. I think my parents are both free this Thursday. So, about the studying?" Karan snickered at her boldness.

"You're as bad as Zander. Classes are on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday is Study day for either book work or physical lessons. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are free days. You may do as you please on those days."

"What about study material? I doubt you have the college level wizarding texts that we'll need…"

"Speak for yourself…" Ron muttered. Hermione ignored him and continued on.

"What if we need someone to help us with something magical in nature?" Albus winced internally at the unintended slight though if Mrs. Alden noticed (or cared) she didn't show it. In fact, she smiled.

"I'm sure our library will be adequate and if we cannot help you with something of a magical nature we'll find you someone. Two of my sons are professors at both the magical and muggle divisions of the University of California. They are bound to know somebody. Also, you have the three free days to use for studying and may return here if you so wish. We have no intention of keeping you from your families either. All we ask is that you stay Sunday nights through Thursday afternoons. Afterwards you are free to go home."

"And if we don't have a family to go home to?" Draco asked softly. Karan tilted her head to the side as she looked at him. She did this for a few seconds then smiled softly.

"Then you are free to stay with us. Prove to us you are worthy of our trust and you'll always have a place with the Alden family." Several eyes widened at that. The words didn't mean much to a lot of the people in the room, but to those who still followed the older traditions the meaning was clear. The Alden family was in essence offering an alliance with everyone in the room. While the Alden's were a Base caster family, it was still not something to take lightly. Draco studied her for a moment then nodded his head.

ROA

Severus looked at his godson. He, and Draco as well, knew that alliances from families like this were rare. Unlike the Gryffindors in the room, Severus wasn't under the impression that base casters were weak. He had seen the look of surprise on Albus's face when Mrs. Alden had made her presence known and the fact that he hadn't been alerted when she passed through the wards was reason enough for worry. Of course, he had also met Mr. Alden and what he had felt from the man was anything but lack of magic.

Suddenly Karan turned her attention to another person in the room. Potter was staring intently at her and she returned it with a stare of her own. This was the most animated that Potter had been in days. Severus had been absent when Potter had arrived at Hogwarts, if of course being tied up and beaten in a dungeon counted as absent. It seems Voldemort doesn't appreciate spies. _Go figure_. It had been sheer luck that he had gotten his magic to work and take him to a safe place. He had done it as a child often enough when things had gotten out of control at home but he hadn't done it since he started Hogwarts. Much to his displeasure, he had appeared behind the head table in the great hall. Potter had been sitting in the window behind the table and slowly turned to look at him. The empty look in those emerald green eyes had sent a shiver down his spine. Instead of the arrogant Gryffindor smirk at seeing the hated Potions Professor beaten and bleeding, Potter had simply blinked and raised his wand. Red alert sparks shot out of the tip before the hand dropped back down onto the window ledge. Potter then returned to staring blankly out of the window as if nothing had happened. Albus had come running in a few minutes later, seemingly unworried about the Gryffindor, and took him to the hospital wing. He had been tempted to demand an explanation as to Potter's actions, but remembered that he didn't care and let it drop.

He was, however, still confused as to why his magic took him to Potter instead of the headmaster. He had simply 'wished', for he had no better way of explaining it, for his magic to take him somewhere safe. How that had ended up with Potter, he didn't know. He had tried to write it off as maybe being that anywhere in Hogwarts was safe, but something was different. Frankly, it pissed him off. Potter was not _safe_. He was rash, pigheaded, arrogant, and if his actions of late was any indication, _cracking_. Depending on the day, he went from a near comatose state to almost functioning. Although, the later always seemed to be more of a tired apathy than actual functioning. He turned his attention back to the staring contest. Potter was the first to break but didn't look away.

"Is it normal for a Base caster's magic to attack outside objects when they lose their temper?" He asked quietly. Severus reluctantly admitted, if only to himself, that he was interested in this as well. Karan nodded.

"It is. More so with the darks than the lights though. I guess it depends on how angry they are." She said. Potter nodded to himself and sat back between the other two thirds of the Gryffindor Trio. His eyes became unfocused as he drifted back to wherever it was he went to lately. Granger looked at him worriedly but didn't say anything. After all, no one seemed to be able to get through to him on these days. Except, it seemed, Severus. It was one of the things bothering him about the whole situation. Potter wouldn't react to anyone all day but the moment he walked into the room, Potter would turn to look at him. Granted it was little more than a blank stare, it was the best reaction anyone got on the _bad_ days. Other days he flinched when people touched him and while actually reacting, he was still quiet. Severus didn't like it. It was too familiar for some reason. If he was a caring person, and he _wasn't_, he would be worried.

He had to drag his gaze away from Potter when he felt someone staring at him. Karan Alden was looking at him with a puzzled look, as if she were actually looking for something. She must have found what she was looking for because she nodded and smiled. He glared at her but it seemed she wasn't fazed. Her eyes took on a glazed look and she snorted.

"I'm sorry, but it appears as though I'm going to have to cut this short. It seems some of my heathen spawn have convinced the squatter crew to light one of the new kids on fire. Not that the little ass doesn't deserve it, mind you." She stood and nodded towards Albus. "Can you have everyone here at around three pm on Thursday?" Albus nodded. "Good then. Do you mind if I leave from here? I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Go ahead. I'll have everyone assembled on Thursday. Thank you."

"Until then." She said. To everyone's, except Albus and Severus, great surprise she then disappeared quietly in a puff of glittering white smoke.

"Okay, that was a little weird…" Ron said.

Severus agreed.

ROA

Alice Granger looked around herself in wonder. She had heard tales of the castle plenty of times over the years but this was the first time she had seen it in person. It was amazing! They had been met at the gates by a giant of a man named Hagrid who, if Alice remembered correctly, actually _was_ half giant. As they were led up to the entryway to the castle, they were handed off to a stern looking older woman dressed in a set of green tartan robes. She had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and instructed them to follow her.

They passed portrait after portrait, amazed by the fact that they not only moved, but spoke as well. Alice actually squeaked and jumped when a suit of armor bowed as they passed. They made their way down many twists and turns until they came up to a large stone gargoyle. Professor McGonagall muttered something under her breath and the gargoyle suddenly jumped to the side revealing a set of revolving stairs. Before they could step forward, Professor McGonagall stopped and turned to the left. Alice and Howard looked as well and were met with a set of piercing black eyes. Alice looked the man over, thinking that he looked familiar. Professor McGonagall nodded to the man.

"Severus. Mr. and Mrs. Granger this is Professor Snape. Professor Snape, Alice and Howard Granger." The woman's Scottish accent was pleasant enough even if it was in a stern no nonsense kind of way. Professor Snape nodded but stayed silent. He looked incredibly displeased to be there although if Hermione's descriptions were accurate, he _never_ appeared pleased. The Scottish witch then led them up the stairs with Professor Snape bringing up the rear. As they came upon a large wooden door, a voice called out for them to enter. As the door was opened the first thing Alice saw was a large gaggle of redheads. _Must be the Weasley family. _She spotted her daughter sitting on the arm of a chair in which a black haired boy sat. She recognized him as Hermione's friend Harry. The boy was pale and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Alice watched as a red haired boy, Ron she thought although there were an awful lot of red haired people in the room so she couldn't be sure, walked up to the two of them. He held out a cup to Harry, who jumped slightly at the sudden movement. The red haired boy frowned but handed Harry the cup anyway. Alice couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the black haired boy. Hermione had sounded worried in the letter she had sent them along with the portkey to bring them here.

Alice noticed that she wasn't the only one who had witnessed the exchange. Professor Snape was watching Harry intently, as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle where half the pieces were missing. Hermione had hinted that something was wrong with the boy. Alice could tell from her daughter's exasperated expression that she had yet to figure out what it was though. She looked at the other people in the room. Some looked familiar. She was sure that she had seen some of them in the pictures that Hermione had shown them. Headmaster Dumbledore sat behind his desk enjoying what appeared to be an insect shaped candy of some sort. She watched Howard cringe when the Headmaster bit into one and it let out a screech. Professor McGonagall ushered Alice and Howard over to a set of empty seats to the right of the Headmaster's desk.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Granger! It's a pleasure to meet the both of you." The old man said as he finished off his screaming candy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Headmaster. Hermione has spoken of you quite a few times." Howard said. The Headmaster looked amused.

"Only good things I hope. And please, call me Albus." He leaned over to whisper to them. "Just between you and I, I find it becomes irksome to be called Headmaster all the time. Thankfully, during the summer the students go home and I enjoy a small reprieve." Albus chuckled. His eyes were suddenly drawn to the door. Alice followed his gaze to see three new people standing in the doorway. The man had shoulder length brown hair and bright glowing blue eyes. Unlike most of the men in the room who wore robes of some kind this man was dressed in blue jeans and a blue short sleeved t-shirt. The woman standing to his left was wearing a pale yellow skirt and a white blouse. She had golden blond curls and an unusual shade of green eyes, Alice didn't quite know what color though.

However it was the third in the group that caught her attention the most. She was clad in a pure white sundress and white knee high boots. Everything about the woman was white including her hip length feathery white hair. When Alice caught sight of her eyes she understood. The woman had the pink irises of a true albino. A movement near the woman's feet caused Alice to look down. Sitting pressed up against the albino woman's legs was the whitest minx Alice had ever seen. In fact, it appeared that the minx was albino as well. _How weird. _She looked over at the other two and saw a small wolf pup calmly sitting between them. When the pup looked her directly in the eyes she noted that they were the same amazing shade of blue as the man's. Albus stood and greeted the newcomers.

"Ricky, Mrs. Alden. Please come in. May I ask who you've brought with you?" Albus asked. Ricky motioned to the albino.

"This is our daughter, Serena. The minx answers to the name Breal and is Serena's… familiar of sorts. The pup is Ferean and he is mine. I warn you all now, the two of them like to change forms often so don't be surprised when that happens." When Alice looked back down at Ferean her eyes widened when she saw a large black panther in place of the pup. Ricky noticed and smiled at her. "See?" Mrs. Alden walked up to Alice and extended her hand.

"I'm Karan Alden. I assume you are Miss. Granger's parents?" Alice shook her hand and Howard followed suit.

"Yes, I'm Alice and this is my husband Howard." Karan nodded.

"Your daughter expressed some concerns that you would be uneasy with her going so far from home. Ricky and I understand. We would feel the same if it were one of our own. We discussed it and decided that it would probably be much easier if everyone were to just visit our home." Karan looked to Albus. "Would anyone object to that?" Albus looked around.

"Anyone, other than the ones I have already talked to, who does not wish to go to the Alden's home please say so now." No one seemed to oppose so Albus turned back to Karan. "How will we be traveling?"

"We will be taking you ourselves. That's why we brought Serena. An extra person never hurts, ya know?" Karan said then paused. "I think I should tell you that it is very likely to be incredibly rowdy at our home today. Not that it isn't every day, but today is our study day and there is no telling what'll be going on." Karan looked over to Ricky. It looked as though they were communicating with their eyes. A few moments passed and Ricky nodded.

"Serena?" Ricky said. Serena stepped up to his side, the minx following closely behind.

"Yes daddy?" She asked in a lofty sort of voice.

"You'll have to take the… younger ones…" He paused and looked around. "How many of you have experience with Occlumencey?"

"Ah, Severus and I are fully fledged Legilimens. Why?" Albus said as he stood and moved in front of his desk.

"A little girl came in yesterday who decided it would be great fun to play with one of those old fashioned bear traps, you know the ones with the claws. She didn't have much left from her right wrist down and needless to say it took me quite a while to fix it. Unfortunately I still haven't fully recovered so my shields are weak. If I were to touch someone who wasn't already in daily contact with me or who can't shield their emotions, I would probably pass out."

"I've had training." A soft voice came drifting over from a corner. Alice looked over to see a pale blond boy, around the same age as Hermione, sitting beside Professor Snape. She hadn't noticed him earlier and the way his face was tilted she couldn't get a good look at him. Alice turned back to see both Karan and Ricky looking at the boy quite intently. Finally Ricky nodded.

"The three with training will come with me. For your safety, and my own, please make sure your shields are up. The rest will be traveling with Karan and Serena. Please split into two groups. Seven of you will go with Karan and six with Serena. We will be arriving outside one of the satellite houses as I'll have to personally allow you through the wards surrounding our property. Once I do that you should be able to get in by yourself. Everyone ready?" Everyone nodded in conformation. Ricky held out his hands. "Okay then. The three of you need to be holding onto me. And remember to hold on tight." Alice's eyes widened as the four of them quietly disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

ROA

Severus had to admit, he was shocked. That in and of itself was disturbing. He had expected the sickening sucking sensation that normally accompanied apparation, but this was nothing of the sort. In fact, and this was what shocked him, it felt an awful lot like the magic he did as a child. The 'wish' magic that had gotten him to safety numerous times. Ricky noticed as his eyes narrowed and nodded slightly.

_Well then…_ This was unexpected, but then again Severus knew it really shouldn't be. His magic had always been a little different. It had taken him years to be able to control it enough to fit in with the rest of the students in Hogwarts. Even now he still tended to have problems with his wand cooperating with him.

The sound of Albus's gasp brought him from his thoughts. Looking around he noticed the house they were standing in front of was covered in many different colored morning glories and some kind of vine plant. It was a beautiful three story tall southern U.S. plantation home with a large porch wrapped around the entirety of the first and second floors. It was a stunning sight, however, what stood out the most were the sheer numbers of prisms scattered around the outside of the house. Ranging from the size of a knut to the size of a cauldron they splashed the white exterior of the house in array of multi colored light. The albino woman, Serena, walked up beside him. She held out a silver chain necklace with a simple prism no bigger than the tip of his pinky finger dangling from it.

"I collect prisms. Any kind as long as they create these colors. I feel a… connection to them. They, like me, have no color of their own, yet they have the ability to produce every color of the rainbow. Their colors come from within. It's like magic." She said softly. Severus scowled down at her.

"They absorb light and reflect the colors. They don't make it themselves. And it's your magical core that your magic comes from, not from outside yourself." She looked up at him, her pink eyes studying him with an intensity that made him uneasy.

"Hmm… perhaps. Then again, maybe you just haven't felt that kind of magic before. In any case, they are beautiful." She said then turned and gracefully walked over to the front door. Ricky stood beside it and waited for everyone to regain their bearings. Everyone slowly turned their attention to him and he stepped forward.

"I will need everyone to enter through the door in a single file line. Everyone will need to place one hand on the door frame as they pass, regardless of whether or not you have magic. You will continue down the hall and exit the house through the back door and wait in the backyard. I will follow the last one through and then we will leave for the main house. Please do not touch anything inside the house." He said and stepped aside so that they could start walking through.

As Severus stepped up and placed his hand on the molding around the door, he felt a pleasant warm sensation envelop his entire body. He discretely looked over at Karan as they walked through the house and noticed her smiling at him. Scowling, he exited the house and walked over to inspect the lavender and tiger lilies growing along the edge of the fence. Albus walked though and stood beside him. Severus glanced at the old man and finally asked the question that had been bothering him all day.

"Albus, how do you know to trust these people? How do you know they won't lead us straight to Voldemort?" he asked quietly. Albus considered his words for a moment.

"Severus, you know how important Harry is to the wizarding world. Do you honestly think I would put him, or any of you, in danger? Ricky has proven his honesty to me. No, I will not tell you how. Maybe in time he will tell you himself." he said just as Severus opened his mouth to argue with the old man. "Besides I've done some research myself into the Alden family. They are a very large and very old family, all base casters, and known for being almost completely neutral in matters concerning the wizarding world."

"So they're cowards." Severus spat. Albus just chuckled and turned to follow their group down a small but well worn path through the forest behind the house. As Severus caught up Albus continued.

"No Severus, I think it's more of a 'you leave us alone and we will leave you alone' kind of thing. What little I have witnessed of Ricky and Karan's power is enough to make me think that it would be unwise to go up against them. I find I am curious to see what else these people are capable of." Albus looked over at Severus with those damned twinkling eyes and Severus winced. The twinkle never bode well for the person receiving it. Albus noticed the wince and smiled. Sighing Severus gave in.

"Say it Albus. I have an idea what you want to say. Go ahead and prove me right." he said pinching the bridge of his nose. He hoped that his earlier conclusion was wrong but deep down he knew he was right.

"I don't believe I really need to state it Severus. You are correct." Albus said quietly.

From their vantage point at the back of the group Severus watched as Potter stumbled over a tree root and then flinch as Weasley caught him by the arm. Something was terribly wrong with the boy but Albus had been unusually quiet about it. Severus snorted. _Figures._ He had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to be left to him to fix Potter. He had taken to watching the boy, not out worry mind you, just plain curiosity. What could make the Boy Wonder go from blindly trusting those around him to shrinking back from his friends every time one of them came near?

Shaking his head in disgust over the thoughts going through his head, Severus used the sleeve of his robe to wipe the sweat from his brow. He slipped his wand out of its holster and attempted to cast a cooling charm on himself only to find his wand wasn't in the mood to cooperate with him. He almost snapped the blasted thing as he forcefully shoved it back into the holster on his wrist. That kind of thing had been happening more and more frequently lately and had gotten him into trouble more than once. Two weeks ago he had used his wand to extinguish the fire under a highly temperature sensitive golden cauldron. Instead of dying the fire engulfed the cauldron, melting it and setting the potion inside on fire. The resulting explosion had left him in the infirmary for two days. At the time he thought that his wand might have been busted but Albus checked it and had found nothing wrong. Now he wondered if maybe it was because he wasn't suppose to use wand at all.

Severus was so deep in his thoughts that he almost didn't stop in time to keep from walking into Albus. Severus looked for what had captured Albus's attention so completely and his eyes widened to comical proportions. About a mile in front of them sat a sprawling oddball castle nearly the size of Hogwarts!

"Dear sweet Merlin! He wasn't exaggerating!" Albus exclaimed softly. Ricky turned to the group and smiled.

"Welcome to Alena Manor!" He said and spun around in a circle. Karan swatted him on the arm.

"Behave!" she admonished quietly. Ricky coughed and looked at her sheepishly.

"Sorry, someone's broadcasting." he said and ran a hand through his hair. Severus looked around curious as to who the Empath was picking up on. Lovegood stood not to far from the Aldens almost fidgeting with giddiness. _Merlin knows what's going through her head._ As much as Severus didn't want to admit it, he actually found the strange girl tolerable. If he were a little more honest with himself he'd say that she amused him. But Severus was anything but honest at this point and stuffed that thought back into the dusty box where it belonged. It took its place right between his fondness for that meddling old coot and his worry for Potter.

Severus's attention was drawn towards a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a choke. His godson was looking at Mr. Alden like he was barmy.

"Manor? That's a bloody castle!" Draco exclaimed once he found his voice. Ricky looked at Draco then back at the 'manor'. He tilted his head to the side and then shrugged and turned around.

"Well, it started out as a manor anyway. She's been added onto over the centuries. Oh, and a warning. Alena is sentient as well. Please try not to anger her, it could take weeks to find you." Ricky shuddered. Albus laughed and walked to the front of the group to join the Aldens.

"Speaking from experience?" he asked. Ricky nodded and laughed nervously.

"You have no idea. She can be downright vindictive when she wants to be. But she's usually very pleasant. You'll learn quickly what upsets her." he turned to Serena. "Ri, can you tell your brothers and sisters to meet us in the star room in an hour? I'm sure we'll have to take care of our guests after walking in this heat. Have the third levels take care of the firsts and the fourths can watch over the seconds. If the groups are small just put them together and tell the older ones to play some games with them until we get done. Please." Serena nodded then placed her hand on the head of the white great dane standing beside her and they both disappeared.

"Mr. Alden?" Lovegood asked. Severus watched as Ricky cringed.

"Please call me Ricky. It will get confusing if you call me Mr. Alden." he said.

"Mr. Ricky, will we be able to see any of your dragons while we're here?" Ricky and Karan turned together to look at Luna. Karan smiled while Ricky chuckled.

"You'll fit in great here! I'm surprised that you picked up on that. Perhaps if you ask nicely they will let you see them. But not now. I'm sure most of you are wanting to get in out of the heat. Please follow us and we'll get you inside." Ricky said and took off towards the manor once again. Severus would have groaned at his enthusiasm but it would have ruined his image. He swiped at his brow again as he felt the sweat dripping down his face. _Must remember to not wear thick black robes next time..._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Mrs. Rowlings creations. Everything and everyone else however are mine.

* * *

Harry stumbled once again. He really needed to pay attention to where he was walking. Looking for whatever he had tripped over, he noticed a stone quickly retreating back into the floor. _How odd._ The entrance hall they were walking through was an odd mix of muggle and magical elements. The hallway floor was done in a cobblestone pattern with varying shades of gray stone. The walls were paneled in a light colored hardwood. Strangely enough, the combination worked. Looking up Harry noticed the lighting was muggle. There were torches lining the walls but none of them were lit. As they walked deeper into the manor, _castle_, whatever it was, his eyes widened at the sheer size of the place. At the end of the rather narrow entryway was a large open area with a beautiful gray and white marble grand staircase leading up to the second floor. The ceiling continued upwards for at least two more stories and had everyone who looked at it gaping. Even Snape seemed stunned at the sight, Harry noticed.

On the ceiling was the most realistic depiction of a dragon Harry had ever seen. The navy blue scales shimmered in such a way that one couldn't be sure that it wasn't actually moving. Surrounding the dark blue dragon were three smaller dragons of equally amazing detail, one bright emerald green, another a dark purple, and the last a dark metallic gray.

"Amazing!" Harry heard Hermione's mother whisper. Harry agreed. Looking down he caught sight of Mr. Alden talking with a woman. She nodded and walked down a hallway to their right.

"Everyone! We will be having refreshments shortly. Feel free to wander around but please try not to get lost. If you ever do find yourself lost, place a hand on the nearest wall and ask aloud for help. The torches you see lining the walls will light to show the path to either this room or the nearest family member or household worker. On the same note, you may also ask to be shown the way to a specific place or person. I'll show everyone how to do that when we go to the star room." He said. Mrs. Alden walked up between Hermione's parents and Harry, causing Harry to jump slightly. _Must stop doing that!_ Looking up, the blond haired woman smiled.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" She asked. The people around her nodded. "I'm particularly proud of it."

"Who painted it? It's wonderful!" Mr. Granger asked in awe.

"My son Tron was twelve when he started that. It took him a year to finish it seeing that he had to do it between classes and things." Harry could hear the pride in her voice and wondered what exactly it would feel like to be on the receiving end of such an emotion. To know that no matter what he did there would always be that tone in his parents voice. Petunia and Vernon had certainly never held that emotion for him and while Sirius had been proud of him it had always been overshadowed by his father's legacy. Harry looked back up at the ceiling and sighed. _If my parents had lived, would they have been proud of me? Are they proud of me now? Even now that I'm dirty? _Hermione's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"How exactly would a twelve year old have done something of that magnitude without being able to use magic?" She asked. Karan stared at her for a moment then smiled softly.

"Our children start learning how to use their magic as soon as they show it for the first time. That usually starts between the ages of three and six. As for how he did it. Hmm... well, by that time he had already painted the walls and ceiling in both his room and that of Serena's and the manor made her wishes for a mural up there known. She created catwalks up there for Tron to work on and assured us that no harm would come to him so we let him do it. He's painted many other rooms since. In fact, he painted the solid wall of the green house so well that you can't tell where the plants end and the painting begins." Harry jumped when a bell like sound echoed throughout the manor. "Oh, dear. Everyone, please move to the left side of the room. Quickly please!" She said and started shooing everyone to the side. As soon as Harry had moved the sound of giggling and screaming children came from the entry hallway. Soon, children of all different ages came running by them. It seemed that the younger kids were being chased by the older ones, one of which Harry recognized. Ebony paused in her good natured pursuit of a small black haired boy and looked straight at him.

"Hello Mr. Harry! How do you like it so far?" She asked. Ebony was once again dressed in her gothic style except it seemed to be completely black this time. _How can she stand all that black in this heat?_

"It's hot." He said quietly. She smiled at him and turned back to chasing the stragglers. She arranged her hands into claws and started roaring in a way that Harry thought might have been scary had it not been coming from such a petite girl. The two small blond twin boys looked at her, giggled, and then ran down the hallway on the right side of the room. Ebony looked back at him.

"You'll get use to it, Mr. Harry!" She said as she turned and followed them. Harry could practically feel the piercing black eyes burning holes through the back of his head and slowly looked at those around him. Several gazes were locked on him and he had to fight the impulse to flinch.

His eyes narrowed at his own reaction. _Flinch? Why would I flinch?_ Harry knew something was wrong with him but couldn't quite figure it out. There were days that he jerked away from those around him and he didn't know why. Most of the time it felt as if his head were full of cotton and the feelings he knew he should be feeling were absent. A hand on his shoulder caused him to snap back to reality. Only when he saw Hermione's worried face did he realize that he was panting like he had just finished running a marathon. He forced a smile for his friends. The looks on their faces told him that they were about to start questioning him again and he could think of no way to avoid it this time. Luckily, Ricky came to his rescue.

"Drinks are here! Please take as much as you need. It's easy to overheat in this weather." His announcement effectively captured everyone's attention, save for one. Snape was looking at him like he was searching for something and Harry hoped to goodness he found it. Perhaps Snape could figure out what was wrong, Merlin knew Harry wasn't doing any good at it.

Harry moved his gaze towards the refreshments and saw Ricky watching him as well. Mr. Alden's eyes, however, were not looking for anything. They seemed to be looking through him and Harry got the feeling that Ricky Alden knew exactly what was wrong with him. Ricky flashed Harry a small smile, one full of kindness and understanding, and nodded. Harry blinked. Could Ricky Alden read minds or was he just that obvious? Harry shrugged and slowly joined the others. _It's too bloody hot here._

ROA

Ricky watched as the pitchers of pumpkin juice, apple juice, and water were quickly emptied. He knew that his guests were no strangers to these temperatures, but with the humidity in Georgia, the heat could quickly become deadly. He took a sip of his own sweet tea and looked around at the people standing in his home. The set of red haired twins made him want to both smile and pull at his hair. He knew from raising his own children that these two would be a problem. He didn't even want to think about when Cara and Sara caught sight of them. Ricky was busy watching the twins when Karan walked up to him.

"Cara and Sara will be ecstatic." She said quietly.

"Must remember to fire proof the new stables..." He said distractedly. Karan nodded and looked towards Mr. Snape. It was hard to imagine this man was Ebony's father. Granted that, yes, Ebony was almost the spitting image of the man, for some reason Karan couldn't visualize a man such as him with a woman of Sharon's reputation. She shook her head and looked over at Mr. Potter.

"Is he going to be okay? He seems... broken." She asked softly. Ricky looked over at the boy and sighed.

"I hope so. His mind has him in a haze right now. It's probably the only thing keeping him going actually." Karan looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

"You know what's wrong with him, don't you?" Ricky nodded. "Then can't you fix it?" He shook his head as he turned up to look at the ceiling.

"No, it's not something I can fix. He's going to have to work it out himself. Maybe..." He trailed off lost in thought. Karan waited on him to finish his thought and when he didn't she poked him in ribs.

"Ouch!" Ricky yelped, though the smile on his face told her that he wasn't hurt. Karan put her hands to her hips.

"Are you going to finish that sentence?"

"What sentence?" He asked as he reached down to scratch his left foot. Seeing Karan's eyes narrow, he grinned. Of course not where she could see, he liked sleeping in his bed thank you very much.

"Ricky Alden! Where the hell are your shoes?" He looked at her with something between a scowl and a pout.

"Since when do I have to wear shoes in my own home?" He asked petulantly. She shook her index finger in front of his face and without thinking he crossed his eyes to watch it. Karan noticed and poked him right between the eyes.

"Don't give me that bullcrap, _Richard_." He cringed at the use of his full name. "You haven't been wearing shoes since you stepped into Serena's house. I let it slide then but yo..." He stopped her mid-rant by a well timed kiss. He pulled back and smiled at her.

"I love you, you know that? Only you would put up with me for as long as you have." he then turned to his guests. "Alright everyone! I'll show you how to work the torch system and then we will be on our way. Please pay attention." He walked over to the nearest wall and placed a hand on it. He went to give the command and then paused. He looked over at Karan shortly before looking at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, could you please come over here?" He asked. The young man had the look of a deer in headlights and it took a nudge from one of the red headed children to get him to move towards him. Ricky motioned him to the wall and stepped back a few feet to allow Harry some room. Harry stood fidgeting as everyone waited for whatever Ricky wanted to do.

"Place your hand on the wall." Harry did as told though he acted as if he were afraid that the wall was going to bite him. Ricky almost laughed but caught himself. It wouldn't do to scare the kid now or he would go farther back into his shell. Instead he smiled encouragingly. "Good, now say out loud; 'Please show me the way to the star room.'."

Harry's voice wavered a bit as he repeated the request but Ricky doubted that many in the room could hear it like he could. The boy startled rather spectacularly as the torch closest to him sprang to life with a roaring pop. There were several surprised exclamations as small torches at the edges of every other step on the grand staircase roared and indicated that they were to go upstairs. The anxious mumblings of the group seemed to amuse the manor and she fed the flames until they were three feet high causing a few people squeak. Ricky laughed.

"Now that's not nice dear. You shouldn't play with guests on the first visit, they might not come back." Ricky said without actually looking at anyone. Harry gave him a quizzical look and Karan decided to take pity on him.

"He's speaking to the manor. She tends to be a little too playful with new people. We have to remind her to go easy on the new kids sometimes." She watched along with Harry as Ricky convinced the manor to lower the flames and behave herself. The torches flickered almost sadly and Ricky sighed.

"Fine, but you have to leave the guests alone until they get use to you. Promise?" There were popping noises from the torches and the flames flashed blue before they died down to a gentle orange glow. Ricky rolled his eyes and looked around at the people staring at him. He cleared his throat.

"Well, anyway. The flames won't hurt you if you touch them so don't worry about that. Now, on to the star room! I'd hate to see what all my children would do if we left them in the same room together for too long." Ricky said as he started up the stairs. The rest of the group looked at each other, shrugged, and followed the strange empath up the stairs.

ROA

Albus caught up with Ricky and walked beside him. Ricky glanced over at him and nodded, showing Albus that it was okay to voice his question.

"Out of sheer curiosity, what did you have to promise her to get her to settle down?" Albus knew what it was like to have to talk a sentient building into doing something it didn't want to do. Hogwarts could be obstinate when she set her mind to it.

"Mmm? Oh, that. I promised her that I would let her play hide and seek with the children later. She loves to play with the kids." Albus furrowed his brows.

"How exactly does a castle play hide and seek?" he asked as they turned down a hallway and walked up another set of stairs. Ricky shrugged.

"Who better to show you the best hiding places than the manor herself? It was great fun when I was a kid. I still play sometimes."

"Only when you've done something to piss me off. That's how you got stuck between the walls after you ate the last of my blueberry ice-cream, remember?" Karan interrupted. Ricky looked away embarrassed.

"Yeah, um… anyway. We're here." They came to a stop at an intricately carved hardwood door. The scenes depicted were of the varying constellations in the night time sky. It was inlaid with silver and gold and studded with small sapphires. Ricky turned back to his wife when everyone had caught up. He was about to say something when a voice rang out;

"Venus fly traps do not _eat gummy bears_!"

Everyone looked at the door in surprise. Albus watched in amusement as Karan groaned and hit her forehead on Ricky's chest. Ricky was trying not to laugh but seemed to be failing miserably. Karan glared up at her husband.

"I don't know why you're laughing. It's your fault anyway, you know." She said as she poked him in the chest.

"What did I do?"

"It's your genetics. It couldn't have possibly come from me." She stated. Ricky raised an eyebrow.

"Need I remind you of how we met, _dear_?" he asked as he turned back to the door. Karan crossed her arms.

"I still say that whiskey bottle jumped out of my hand and broke against that _tramp's_ head. I had nothing to do with it." She pouted as Ricky slowly and carefully opened the door.

"Mmm. Is that what you told the police when they asked why a _sixteen year old girl_ was in a bar fight in the first place?" He motioned for everyone to follow him in. Albus watched as the two of them continued to bicker.

"Hey, _you_ were right in the middle of that fight too!"

"Only after _you_ broke that bottle over my girlfriend's head." He turned to glare at her. The glare itself held no heat so Albus was sure this was an old argument. In fact they both seemed amused by it.

"She deserved it! Besides you were grateful afterwards." She huffed and walked past him.

"Yes, right up until our parents showed up to bail us out of jail…" Ricky mumbled. Albus held in a rather undignified snort of laughter. Yes, perhaps these people would be exactly what Harry and Severus needed.

The sound of glass shattering caused Ricky and Karan to sigh simultaneously. As the group rounded the corner the sight that met them caused them to stare. On their right, with a shattered glass table between them, stood a woman in her mid- twenties. Her long straight brown hair was held up with a large clip and had a small purple iris woven in right above her right ear. She was glaring intently at a set of twin brunette girls. There was a potted plant in the first girls hands and Albus assumed that it was her that was yelling earlier.

A scuffling noise drew Albus's attention to the sofa on his left. It seemed that two men, one with long straight blond hair and the other with curly brown hair, were… sitting on top on someone. Well, trying to anyway. That someone appeared to have been sleeping before the other two sat upon him. Albus could have sworn he heard a growl coming from somewhere in the sofa's cushions. There were several other people and animals of varying species milling about. The scene in front of Albus was in short, chaotic. Karan, it seemed, felt the same way.

"Oh, for the love of Merlin!" She said and turned to the fight on their right. "Iris! What happened?"

"Those two decided it would be fun to feed candy to my plants. I've got an entire greenhouse full of carnivorous plants with tummy aches now!" Iris said, never once letting her glare waver. Karan shifted her gaze to the twins.

"What's your story?"

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. Turning back to Karan they tried their best to look innocent.

"We were just trying to help." They said in unison.

"Cleopatra looked hungry…"

"But she hissed when we tried to give her something…"

"And tried to bite our fingers…"

"Sooo… we thought some of the others might like something and we shared! Wasn't that nice?" They finished. It was like watching Fred and George except these two's 'twin speech' flowed even more seamlessly than Fred and George could manage. Karan pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Cara, Sara, stay out of your sister's greenhouse and away from her plants." She turned to Iris. "Next time they decide to _help_ you have my permission to feed them to Cleopatra. Chop them up first though; I wouldn't want the poor thing to choke." She then turned to the people on the sofa.

"Ian, Evan, you _do_ remember what he did the last time you did that, right? If he does it again your father will _not_ be patching you back together." Ian and Evan, Albus wasn't sure which one was which, scrambled to remove themselves from their perch. "Tron, are you okay?" The man's grumble was muffled but Karan seemed to understand what was said. She nodded and turned to the rest. "Well? We have company so make yourselves presentable. And fix that table!" As everyone scampered around she turned to Albus. "We'll just have them state their names and birth order for now. Is that okay for everyone?" She directed her question to the group behind him. Everyone either nodded or replied that they were okay with it and Karan smiled. Ricky turned to his children.

"Alright you all! State your first names, oldest to youngest, and indicate where you are." Albus ushered his group a bit farther into the room so that everyone could see a little better. Standing in the back, a woman with short brown hair raised her hand.

"I'm Robin." Sitting beside her with an old tome of some sort open in his lap was a man with long light brown hair. He raised his hand.

"My name is Zander." He immediately went back to reading. A man in a dark blue suit walked up to them. His shoulder length dark brown curls framed a lightly tanned face with a pair of the darkest blue eyes Albus had ever seen. He stood at least three inches taller than Ricky.

"Malakie." He looked to Ricky. "Sorry, but I have to go. I'm already late for my meeting." Ricky nodded.

"Just come back as soon as you can. We're going to need to work out a training schedule for them." He indicated the people behind him. Malakie nodded and disappeared in a white mist. The next raised her hand.

"Katerina." Next the blond man who had been sitting on Tron raised his hand.

"Ian." The other indicated towards himself.

"Evan."

"We're twins." They said together.

Serena waved.

"I'm next."

The man on the couch, Tron, waved halfheartedly but didn't remove himself from his sleeping position so Albus couldn't see his face. The next was Iris. She stood up and grabbed her plant from the table next to her, glaring when the twin girls snickered.

"Iris." She said as she walked over and sat beside Serena on a different sofa. One of the twin girls stood up shortly followed by her sister.

"I'm Cara."

"I'm Sara." They said at the same time so Albus wasn't quite sure who was who. They looked at him and grinned. "Don't worry, we answer to either name!" As they sat down, the last two stood up and walked over to their parents. Facing their guests the boy, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Ricky, spoke up.

"I'm Drew, and this is Izzy." He said indicating the small girl standing shyly behind him. This girl was almost a carbon copy of her mother, right down to the blond ringlets and aqua green eyes. Albus smiled at her. She stared at him for a few moments before she smiled back. Drew led his little sister back to a table that Albus noticed was covered with crayons and paper and sat down. Ricky sighed and turned to the, obviously overwhelmed, people behind him.

"Don't worry about trying to remember who's who for now. It'll come in time. Well, now that you've met everyone…" Here he smiled and bowed gracefully. "Welcome to our home."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Mrs. Rowlings creations. Everything and everyone else however are mine.

* * *

Severus stood gazing at the massive group of people around him, his carefully crafted expressionless mask firmly in place. Albus had descended upon the Alden elders and from what Severus could make out, they were discussing training schedules. Longbottom had gone off with Iris, discussing various plant related topics. The Granger chit had badgered the youngest male Alden child into showing her to the family library, seemingly unwilling to believe it to be up to par. Severus admitted that he was curious as well but felt that it could wait.

He eyed the Weasley twins warily. They had immediately introduced themselves to the set of identical brown haired girls. The devious looks on the faces of the twin girls when they spotted Fred and George almost made Severus cringe. After so many years of teaching, the Weasley twins included, he had knew that this didn't bode well for anyone within a fifty mile range. If these two girls were half as bad as he thought they were he was going to need a strong headache reliever, preferably one that put him into a comatose-like state for the next six months.

"It's a sign of the Apocalypse, you know?" A pleasant deep voice said from beside him. It took all his skills as a spy to not jump completely out of his skin. He must have been deeper in thought than he realized to be snuck up on like that. Severus turned to look at the person beside him. The man's almost waist length light brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail with a blue ribbon. Zander Alden's eyes were light blue in color, not the brilliant shade of his father's or the deep blue of his younger brother's, but they still shown with the same gentle power Severus had seen in Ricky's gaze. In fact, Severus was willing to bet that all of the Alden children shared that same trait, no matter the eye color. He remembered Zander's statement and raised an eyebrow in question. Zander, it seemed, didn't need him to actually voice his question.

"Those four." He nodded towards his sisters who were talking animatedly with the red haired terrors of Hogwarts. "I've always said that the first sign of the Apocalypse would be when Cara and Sara met their matches. I've heard of the misters Weasley, their prank potions are infamous in the potion community as I'm sure you know Master Snape." Severus was taken by surprise by the man's words.

"You seem to know quite a bit about me. May I ask how?" It made him nervous that a stranger knew who he was and yet he had next to no knowledge about said stranger. Zander Alden shrugged.

"Not surprising really. I was a judge on your potions practical for your mastery. I'm one of those Potions Masters that gets called in whenever someone shows an outstanding talent for potions. I'm sure you've been called on to judge as well with your scores. I tend to keep tabs on those I judge, as I don't judge many, and you were one of them." Zander looked over at Severus from the corner of his eye. "I was the one who had Dad keep an eye on Sharon Dearcy when the two of you stopped associating with each other." Zander held up a hand to cut off Severus's snide remark. "Let me finish before you call me a stalker. I'm not, I assure you. I heard about it in passing from a friend of mine that works in the defense department where you were studying for your defense mastery. I've got connections in most of the worlds magical universities. Anyway, something said I needed to keep an eye on Sharon as well. I'm glad I did." He paused and sighed as his sisters began to argue once more. "Well, I get the privilege of showing you to your rooms. I'm sure that afterwards you would like to see the potions labs. I've set the smaller of the two up for your use. Just the basics mostly, you'll have to get anything else on your own. Would you like to go to your room now or later?" Severus was still uneasy with Zander's words, however he could detect no ill intentions in them and decided that he needed some peace and quiet to sort through the emotions that they evoked.

"I would appreciate it if I could have some time to unpack and settle in before anything else. I can't say that I was thrilled when Albus sprang this on us." Severus groused. Indeed, he had sputtered and snapped and snarled but the old coot wouldn't budge. _Now, Severus there's no need to argue. I've made up my mind. The farther away you and Mr. Potter are from Voldemort right now, the better. And I dare say that you would be hard pressed to teach everything by yourself. No, there really isn't anything more to discuss. Would you like to try one of these War Heads? I seem to have developed a fondness for them._ At that point Severus had sincerely wished the old man would choke on his candy. Zander's chuckle brought him out of his musings.

"No. I don't suppose you would be." He motioned for Severus to follow him. "Follow me and I'll show you to the guest wing." Zander said as he led the still slightly peeved potions master out of the room.

ROA

Ebony watched through the crack that was created by leaving her door slightly ajar. She had asked Alena to make sure that the two men walking down the hall wouldn't notice it. The fact that she had to resort to spying on the former spy left her with a twisted sense of amusement. That quickly led into a feeling that she wasn't quite sure she could explain if asked. There was the gut wrenching feeling that she got when she admitted that the only times she had seen either of her parents without some form of loathing on their faces was when they weren't thinking of or looking at her. The other one was harder to place. Hopelessness maybe. She watched as Zander led her father to a room across the hall and three doors down from the one she now occupied.

Though she wouldn't show it, she was ecstatic that he was here. It would be wonderful to get to know more about the man, even if he was a prickly bastard. She had grown up with Tron, there wasn't much that fazed her in that respect. However, she couldn't help but remember the look he had given her in the Hogwarts infirmary or Sharon's words that previous spring. The sinking feeling of dread that she had been trying to ignore for he last two weeks returned with a vengeance. _What if this only makes things worse? _It wasn't like his aversion of her could get any worse but at least he didn't show his displeasure of her existence physically. _Yet, anyway_, a small voice in the back of her head quipped.

She sighed and shut the door with a soft click. Turning around, she watched her red haired balancer lying on her canopy bed. Ivy was lying on her back with her head hanging off the side of the bed, watching a small red ball of light floating above her face. Her clear blue eyes were focused intently on the sparkling energy. _Has she even blinked in the last five minutes?_ It made her eyes hurt to think about it.

"For goodness sake, Ivy, blink!" She said as she took a seat beside the other girl on the soft black and purple comforter. Ivy slowly blinked, _once_, but her attention on the ball never wavered. Ebony rolled her eyes and lay down with her head resting on Ivy's lower abdomen. She lifted her hand to play with the laces on the red head's shirt as one of Ivy's hands came to rest in Ebony's pitch black hair.

"Give him time, he hasn't had a chance to heal yet. Let the Aldens work their magic on them both." Ivy said quietly. Ebony snorted.

"Magic won't fix that."

"You and I both know there is more than one kind of magic." Her hand started to lightly thread through the raven colored strands. "You have to admit that there is something special about the Aldens." Ebony hummed her agreement but stayed silent. She watched Ivy's red energy ball for a few moments before reaching over and sticking her index finger into the middle of it. She concentrated for a few seconds then released the magic into the ball, changing the color from bright red to a shimmering purple. Ivy sat up suddenly and looked down at her with furrowed brows.

"Why?" was all she asked. Ebony, after seven years of dealing with the red haired girl, was use to Ivy's quirks. She even instigated them at times. For example, changing the color of the floating sphere. Ivy's instant displeasure with change was one of her many strange mannerisms. Fortunately, with their bond, the side effects of Ivy's seer abilities were kept to a minimum. At Ivy's unwavering stare Ebony shrugged.

"Because I wanted too." Ebony sat up and scooted towards the steps along the side of the bed. Ricky had this bed built especially for her when she was four. She had been too small to get onto the bed by herself and it had irritated her to no end. She had tried to hide her frustration but it was near impossible to do that with Ricky being an Empath. He hadn't said anything about it, and when she walked into her room to find the beautiful platform canopy bed with steps built into the sides all she could do was stare. Ricky had told her it was an early birthday present but later on Karan told her that Ricky had just wanted to spoil her a little bit. Even now it still amazed her that someone would do such a thing for a child that wasn't even theirs.

Ebony bounced down the steps and to her vanity. After touching up her make up she turned to see Ivy staring at her. Ebony smiled then walked over and hauled the other girl off the bed.

"Well? Come on! We've got to go help with the little ones!" she said as she pulled her balancer out the door.

ROA

Draco stared in astonishment at his surroundings. It wasn't so much the sheer size of the kitchen that amazed him, instead it was the blatant lack of house elves. He had grown up in a world where in every kitchen you encountered at least two elves. Be they like the, admittedly pitiful, Malfoy elves, Piden and Soren who pretty much lived in the kitchens or the army of Hogwarts elves in their matching uniforms. Here however, the kitchen was decidedly quiet. Sure he had seen a few servants, human obviously, but aside from the casual nod they didn't really acknowledge him as they went about their business.

Earlier, he had gotten rather bored with the crowd in the Star Room, which turned out to be a rather large observatory if the giant telescope in the center was any indication. Draco couldn't remember having ever seen an observatory of that kind however. He guessed it had to do with something muggle related and left it at that for the time being. After the initial introduction it seemed that everyone broke off into group discussions and while Draco was just fine left on his own it had quickly gotten boring. Severus had disappeared and aside from Dumbledore, no one else would speak to him without it involving insults or punches. He had to admit, now that he was free to do so, that it was probably his own fault.

Draco walked over and took a seat at a rather small table. He had finally gotten sick of being ignored, sure the Alden family didn't _ignore_ him exactly but they were busy keeping the mass of redheaded Weasleys occupied. He had watched the Grangers for a time. They had looked torn between awkwardness and amusement. He had caught himself as the sneer started to form on his face. By now it was an automatic response to Muggles or anything related too them.

He knew, intellectually that while Wizards certainly had an advantage with all the things magic could accomplish, Muggles had an amazing way of compensating for the lack magic. The telephone was a good example and in all actuality, it was better than the floo in many ways. Draco had once been snooping,_ er... wandering_ as he waited for Lucius to finish his meeting with Minister Fudge and happened upon a room in the Ministry full of confiscated muggle objects. Among the items in the room there had been something called a computer. He had been fascinated with it and had done some research about them afterward, without Lucius's knowledge of course. He admitted that trying to wrap his mind around the concepts of 'binary' and 'interface' and the slew of other complicated muggle terms gave him a head ache.

Draco blinked in surprise as a glass of what appeared to be chocolate milk was pushed underneath his nose. He watched the long pale fingers retreat quickly as if the act of touching the glass itself burnt. Draco slowly turned to study the person who sat beside him. The first thought that went through his mind was that one of the Weasleys had finally cracked and was now attempting to poison him, but that was quickly thrown out when he got a good look at the man. The shoulder length hair was the most startling shade of red he had ever seen. Gryffindor red was probably the closest he could come to naming it. He thought that maybe it was dyed but the man's eye brows and eye lashes were the same color so he doubted it. The wide, almost clear, blue eyes were staring back at him with such an intense look that Draco almost flinched.

As the fair skinned hand, once again, slowly reached over to hand him a cookie of some sort, it finally registered to Draco just how the man was sitting. He had moved one of the chairs from a different table, somehow without Draco noticing it, and was now perched with his legs folded underneath himself and his upper body slouched over almost to the point where he could lay down flat if the table weren't in the way. He had seen pictures of contortionists in similar positions but Draco had never actually met anyone in person with that kind of flexibility. What looked painful to Draco didn't seem to bother the man at all. The hand that was holding the cookie (_chocolate chip_, Draco's mind supplied) seemed to be getting impatient and he quickly took it from the strange red haired man. Draco cleared his throat.

"Thank you." He said quietly. The clear blue eyes seemed to be unfocused for a moment before suddenly locking with his own light blue ones. The man gave him a toothy grin before turning his attention to his own milk and cookies. Draco shook his head slightly and decided that he may as well enjoy the spoils. As he finished with his cookie he noticed a plate containing more of the same delicious cookies had been pushed closer to him. He smiled slightly, the first smile really since Lucius had turned him out, and grabbed a small hand full. The man beside him watched and nodded as if to say _very good. _Something about him made Draco instantly relax. He was about to ask the man his name but it turned out he wouldn't need to.

"Devon, there you are! I was wondering where you got off to." A voice said from behind them. _Devon_ turned to face the voice with a blank stare. Draco watched as a rather pretty woman with short brown hair sat down across from them. Her hazel eyes shifted between the two of them and then down to the plate of cookies. She sighed and looked back at Devon.

"So _you're_ the one who made off with the cookies." Devon hummed but didn't admit to anything. The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head. She smiled at Draco and held her hand out for him to shake.

"I'm Jeanne Fleture. I see you've met my husband Devon." Draco took hold of her hand.

"Draco Ma..." He paused. Was the name Malfoy even correct anymore? Did he even _want_ it? _No._ "Ah, just Draco."

"Hello Draco. I'm assuming that you are one of Ricky and Karan's guests from England?" Jeanne asked. Draco nodded. "How do you like it so far?" Draco thought about it for a moment. _Crazy is what it is._

"It's... different..." he said slowly. He didn't know what it would take to insult his hosts but he did know that he didn't want to screw things up. He had done enough of that in his life already and so he settled on the neutral route. What was that saying again? '_If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.'_ A few months ago he wouldn't have bothered to censure himself but after having the last month or so to really sit down and take a good look at himself, he had found that who he had been wasn't what he wanted to be. The only problem now was that he wasn't sure what to do. After years of being spoon fed the _'Pure Blood Superiority'_ spill from Lucius and Narcissa, he was left with little to no knowledge of how exist on the 'lower' levels of society. The woman across from him chuckled.

"Yes, this place is different. But, it's a good different. I remember the first time I came here. It was absolutely mind blowing. They were holding a birthday party for all the family members who had May birthdays. Devon is friends with Tron, I'm sure you've at least heard of him by now, and his birthday is in May. Anyway, Tron was turning three and even then was a snarly little shit and started arguing with one of his older brothers. Devon just picked up a plate of cake and smeared it into Tron's face. Tron then stopped and slowly turned to glare at Devon. It was completely adorable, no one could keep a straight face. I think it was Ricky who flicked the first spoonful of ice cream and after that, it turned into a big food fight." She laughed and looked at Draco. "You'll get use to this place. This place, this family... they're something else." She turned her attention to Devon. "Dear, have you even introduced yourself to your victim?" Devon looked confused.

"He knows my name already." he said softly. Jeanne just shook her head.

"I know you've got problems understanding social situations, but it's common curtsey to at least say hello to someone." Devon looked down at the table for a second.

"Huh." he said then looked over at Draco. "Hello." Draco nodded and looked over to Jeanne.

"Draco, are you going to be living here or are you just visiting today?" She asked as she threw an odd look at her husband.

"I'll be staying here. I don't really have anywhere else to go. My godfather is staying here so I will have to as well." Draco replied softly.

"And your family?" She asked just as quietly. Draco bit his lip as he considered his reply. He didn't feel completely comfortable just throwing his issues out into the open for anyone, let alone people he didn't know. However, he felt that it wouldn't hurt to give them at least a semi-truthful answer.

"I don't have a family." He said after he finished the last of his milk. Jeanne nodded and looked at her husband in surprise when he suddenly stood in his chair. Draco flinched at the sudden movement.

Devon looked down at the two of them for a few moments before jumping down and heading for the door. Jeanne ushered Draco to follow along with them.

"What's going on?" Draco asked not even bothering to hide his confusion. Jeanne just rolled her eyes.

"With Devon, who knows? I've been with him for almost thirty years and still have trouble keeping up with him. His mind functions on a completely different level than normal people. I find it easier to just follow him and let him explain when he's ready." She paused and looked around. "It looks as though we're headed to the dining room. Just what are you up to Devon?" Draco and Jeanne had to scramble to stop in time to keep from running into the red haired man when he stopped dead in his tracks.

"We're going to have to clean out the play room." was all he said before he started walking once again. Draco looked over at Jeanne who shrugged and once again followed her eccentric husband through the equally odd manor.

ROA

Charlie stood staring at the runes carved along the edges of the telescope. He had studied various kinds of runes, both magical and muggle, but these were unlike anything he had ever seen. He was interrupted from his inspection when he felt a tugging on the hem of his robes. Looking up at him was a set of pale green eyes. Smiling, he knelt down to almost eye level with the brown haired little girl.

"Hey there. What's your name, pretty girl?" he asked gently. The girl, no more than three years at the most, squirmed around for a moment before giggling.

"A'dum." She said. It took a moment for Charlie to work out that she meant Autumn.

"Autumn is a very pretty name. My name is Charlie." He blinked, startled, as a blond haired doll was thrust into his face.

"See doll?" the tiny voice asked. Charlie laughed. He remembered his sister doing something very similar with a stuffed toy wand when she was little. He pulled back a bit so that he could see around the frizzy yellow hair.

"I see. It's very cute. Is she yours?" he asked. The little girl hugged the well worn doll to her chest and nodded.

"Doll 'illy." Charlie was still trying to translate her statement when a voice came from behind him.

"She means Billy." Charlie twisted so that he could see the woman standing behind him. He recognized her as one of Ricky's children but couldn't remember her name. She knelt down beside him. "The doll's name is Billy this week. Don't ask me why, I can't figure it out either." She said as she impatiently tucked a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. "I'm Katerina by the way. You've already met my little Autumn." She said and offered him her hand. Taking it he grinned.

"Charlie Weasley." She nodded.

"Have you been a good girl Autumn?" She asked. The jadeite colored eyes widened and she nodded. Katerina smiled and looked back at Charlie. "Out of curiosity, what do you do for a living Charlie?" she asked as she picked Autumn up. Katerina stood and motioned for Charlie to follow.

"I work with dragons in Romania."

"Mmm... a dragon tamer. I thought it might be something like that. How do you like the Georgia Summer so far? Romania must be pretty warm." she asked as she led them out of the crowded room and down a narrow hallway that he hadn't noticed on their trek to the observatory.

Oh, it is but it's not quite as humid." He said. He had been trying to memorize the route but as Katerina took yet another narrow twisting hallway, he gave up. She noticed his expression and laughed.

"It's confusing, right?" She asked. _Only a little,_ he thought and nodded. Katerina shifted Autumn to her other hip. "Most people think Alena Manor is just haphazardly thrown together but it's not. I'm sure you know by now that Alena is sentient, correct."

"Yes."

"Well, unless she's in a particularly bad mood or if someone who hasn't been keyed into the wards manages to get in, she'll show you how to get around. If that someone gets in, Alena goes into a... 'safe mode' if you will, where she only obeys certain people. Because of this we're all taught from an early age how to navigate the manor. The purpose behind the winding, twisting, _illogical_, layout is to confuse. Without the help of the navigation system or a family member, a stranger would be hard pressed to find their way around. It's a basic defense system, like the labyrinths that surrounded ancient wizarding castles." Charlie just looked at her in confusion. The wards that they had to go through to even get onto the property were immensely strong, on par with Hogwarts at least. He wasn't as well versed in ward crafting as Bill but he knew the basics, and you'd have to be completely crazy to try to mess with those. She just smirked at him. "We're a paranoid bunch, but we hide it well. So, Dragon Tamer, tell us about your dragons..."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Mrs. Rowlings creations. Everything and everyone else however are mine.

* * *

Molly watched on as their hosts and Albus discussed training schedules. They had only been there for just over an hour and a half and already her children seemed to be at ease with these people. It was hard not to really, Ricky and Karan just had this patient calming air about them. Molly guessed that it was a trait gained from raising so many children. _Thirteen kids!_ Merlin, she had enough trouble raising seven, let alone twice that many! She looked over at Fred and George who were talking energetically with both sets of Alden twins. She had some measure of respect for Karan and Ricky, one set of twins was enough for her thank you very much!

Molly shook her head and turned back to the conversation at hand. Ricky was chuckling at something when he suddenly paused and tilted his head to the side. His eyes were slightly unfocused for a few moments before he shook himself out of his trance and looked to Albus.

"Your phoenix will be here soon. Malakie is going to let him inside the wards." Molly could only assume he knew this because of the wards. The thought of those still sent a shiver down her spine, of what she couldn't define. When she had placed her hand on the door, there was the warmth that spread through her but at the same time something about that magic was... dangerous. She didn't get the feeling that it was dangerous for her, but she wouldn't want to be the person to figure out just what they were capable of doing.

She startled when the ball of flame that signaled Fawkes's arrival materialized beside her. Following in Fawkes's wake was the white and black clouds that Molly had come to associate with these people's apparations. The white cloud was the man from before, the one that had left for a meeting. He was now dressed in jeans and a green t-shirt. The black manifested into another male with shaggy dirty blond hair. He was similarly dressed. He looked around at the people in the room with a slightly confused expression before he caught Molly staring at him. He grinned and reached up to twist a strand of damp blond hair.

"It's the hair, isn't it?" he gave a mock sigh. "It was longer but Zoe fell asleep on top of me the other day with gum in her mouth and I woke up with it in my hair. I figured I needed a haircut anyway with this weather." he somehow managed to wave at everyone in the group at once. "I'm Kevin, Malakie's husband. Are you still working on the schedules then?"

"I think we've got it but I needed to run it by Malakie first. He's the one who keeps up with everyone's schedules. Is your youngest staying Mrs. Weasley? I know she has school in a month or so along with Miss. Lovegood." Ricky asked.

"I believe Miss. Lovegood's father is quite content letting her finish her studies here. He was most pleased when I informed him of out plans. One can't always be sure what's going on with that man." Albus stated. _He's not the only one,_ Molly thought.

"I think it would be best if Ginny finished at Hogwarts. After her spat with Harry last year things have been tense between them." Molly said and turned her gaze towards her daughter. Ginny was sitting a little bit away from Harry, glaring at the poor boy.

"May I ask what happened? Is it something we should worry about?" Karan asked softly. Molly looked over at her.

"Well, I don't know that it's something that bad. Ginny's had a crush on Harry since she was a little girl. Apparently, she attempted to make a move on him somewhere around the beginning of the last school year. When he told her he wasn't interested, that he saw her as a sister and nothing more, she didn't take it to well. From what Ron and Hermione's letters said, she went off on him. Called him all kinds things, slapped him. He just stood there and let her. The howler she got from me is rumored to be the worst in Hogwarts history. Or so I'm told. I don't think I've ever been more ashamed of one of my children as I was then. So I think it would be best if Ginny were to go to Hogwarts." Karan glanced over at the red haired girl for a few moments then looked over to where her husband and son were conversing in hushed tones. Malakie handed the time table back to Ricky and nodded.

"That'll work. We can either put the two in with the first levels or, and I suggest this since time seems to be limited, we use the mind link to get them up to a third level and start from there. They would have to work really hard to catch up but at least they won't have to start from scratch. However, being Wizard raised may pose a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Albus asked. He looked worried and Molly couldn't blame him. From what Albus had told her, this kind of magic may be the only thing that could destroy You-Know-Who for good.

She was surprised to find out that Harry was a Base Caster. Like most other wizards and witches she had been told that these people were little more than squibs, however Harry was exceptionally powerful. Albus hadn't said who the other one was but Molly had her suspicions. She had noticed Severus having trouble with his wand lately. He didn't know that she knew of course. Molly had been one of the ones that had made sure he was always taken care of after Order missions so she spent a good deal of time around him. She just hoped that both of them were up for this. It was something they desperately needed.

"Mmm. Wizard Basers, or Base Casters who've been raised as wizards and witches, tend to have trouble accepting our way of magic. They try to do our magic with wizarding techniques and when it doesn't work they can't understand why. The older and more set in their ways, the harder it is for them to learn." Malakie said, not looking up from another stack of papers in his hands. "I think when we get them to the third level, we stick them with the Squatter Crew."

"Ah, that might not work with the older one. I don't think Master Snape would get along with them." Ricky cut in. _Well, confirms that,_ she thought. Malakie looked to his father with a thoughtful look in his dark blue eyes.

"Maybe not. We'll have to see. So, seven are staying here and at least three others will be coming once a week for physical and strategic training." Malakie stated and looked over at Molly. "Ma'am?"

"Call me Molly, dear." He nodded and kicked his husband in the shin to stop the soft chuckles.

"Molly, I assume the older red headed male with the long hair is another of your children?" She nodded. "Will he be here for training?" Before Molly could answer a different voice cut in.

"He is." Molly looked behind her to see Charlie with one of Ricky's daughters. He held a small girl, two years maybe, who was sound asleep in his arms. At Molly's look he shrugged.

"She wanted me to carry her." He said quietly.

"Guess what Charlie does for a living daddy!" The woman said quietly as she sat down on a chair beside Molly.

"Surprise me." Ricky said with a smile.

"He's a Dragon Tamer in Romania." Kevin choked on his drink at her response. _When did he get that?_ Malakie and Karen both let out snorts of surprised laughter and Ricky just grinned. The three Weasleys looked confused and Albus just watched their reactions with interest.

"Really now? That _is_ most interesting. So, have we finished with this for now? We can hash the smaller things out later. It's lunch time for us and I'm sure our guests are hungry." Ricky said and stood. Albus stood with him.

"That sounds wonderful. Molly, Authur, what do you wish to do?" Albus asked. Molly glanced over at Ginny once again and decided that maybe it would be best to get her home.

"I think we should be going home. It's been a long day." Molly turned to her son. "Are you coming dear?" He looked down at the tiny fist gripping his shirt. The little girl's brown hair was mussed and her thumb was securely in her mouth. Charlie looked reluctant to wake her. The woman stood.

"You can either go now, I'm sure dad will be sending them home with Serena before lunch, or I can take you home after dinner. Autumn seems taken with you. It's not often that she lets strangers hold her." She turned to Molly and Authur. "I'm Katerina. I know I introduced myself earlier but it can be a bit hard to keep us all separated at first. The little devil passed out on Charlie is my two year old, Autumn. It's nice to meet you all." She said and offered them her hand. Molly smiled.

"Molly Weasley, but just call me Molly."

"Authur Weasley." he shook her hand. Katerina turned to Albus. He nodded and shook hands with her.

"Albus Dumbledore, Albus is fine." Katerina smiled. You could really see Ricky's facial features in her when she smiled. Said man helped his wife out of her seat and headed for the exit. When he reached the door, he paused and looked over his shoulder. With a mischievous grin, he placed his hand on the wall beside the door and bellowed:

"FOOD!"

The resulting scrambled chaos sent Albus into fits of laughter.

ROA

Severus was just finishing his inspection of the new quarters when the torch by the door flared to life. He slowly crossed the room to stand before it. He had to admit that the torch system was rather ingenious. Simple, yes but highly inventive. Severus studied the flame for a moment before he reached out to touch it. He hesitated for a second then stuck his entire hand into it. Whatever he had expected, heat, pain for sure, surely wasn't this.

As soon as he made contact with the fire it had instantly turned a white blue color and jumped from the holder to completely surround his body. Instead of the pain he had expected, he was filled with a feeling of warmth and _peace._ He couldn't remember the last time he felt so content. It sent sparks through both his body and magic and made him feel almost giddy. Beneath the warmth he could feel the manor's consciousness. While he couldn't make out what she was saying, he could tell her emotions. There was a strong sense of curiosity and protectiveness. He was quite sure the curiosity was for him but the protective urges were directed towards others, the Aldens he guessed.

After she had finished probing his magic, and he knew that was what she was doing, he felt the nudges on his mental shields. Severus felt that, should she really want to, the manor could easily break through any shields he could erect. She was trying to be polite and he respected that. Having had experience with Hogwarts castle, you had to be able to communicate with it on some level to modify any of the existing structures like rooms, he knew that she wanted to get to know him. Come to think of it, Zander had mentioned that the manor would be 'getting to know' him to be able to modify his rooms. However, allowing a building with such a level of sentience past his Occlumencey made him rather nervous. Despite not having gone through his mental shields, she seemed to know what was going on and he felt an overwhelming sense of gentleness and sincerity.

Swallowing his unease, he lowered the shields, allowing her full access. He knew that having an upset sentient entity like Alena manor or Hogwarts would not be a pleasant experience. She would not be satisfied until she was convinced that her residents were safe. He felt her presence flow through his mind like water. There was a pause when she got to the memories of being a death eater. Severus couldn't help but hold his breath as she sorted through some of his most shameful acts. He knew he was being judged and while the opinions of others didn't typically bother him, this time he was worried. Severus knew he still had a lot of bad things that he had to atone for and now that he could not longer spy, he needed to find a way to do that. That was why he had, reluctantly, agreed to Albus's plan.

He let out a sigh as she finished with those specific memories and moved on. He could feel her outrage when she got to his childhood. Severus just gave a mental shrug as they both watched a particularly violent episode between his father and himself. It wasn't the best of childhoods, granted, but getting angry over it wouldn't change anything. Besides the man was long dead, having literally drank himself to death, and the less he had to deal with his memory the better.

One of the best things about Occlumencey was that he could lock away the bad memories and they wouldn't effect him as much. Severus almost heard her scoff at his thought. She retreated from his mind and as he slipped his shields back into place he noticed that a link to the manor remained, no matter what he did to close it. He opened his eyes, he wasn't aware of when he closed them, as the fire returned to the torch. He pulled his hand back and slowly shook his head. He had the feeling that this plan of Albus's was going to slowly eat away at his sanity.

'_Sanity is subjective.'_ The voice resonated through the new link in his mind. He closed his eyes and groaned. Of course it would be _that_ kind of link. He could almost _feel_ her rolling her eyes. Well, if she had eyes anyway. '_Of course it's 'that kind' of link! How else am I to speak to you? And let me tell you something! One of the worst things about Occlumencey is that all those emotions behind the memories you lock away fester until one day they infect your mind so deeply that there is no fixing it. No healing the damage they do. You will eventually have to face those things if you want to keep your sanity.'_ Severus snorted at the thought of being chastised by a magically sentient being. He could feel the headache coming already. Damn it.

ROA

Ricky watched as both his family and his guests dug into their meals. Some of the guests appeared a bit overwhelmed with the sheer number of people crowded into the dining room. Or maybe it was the serve yourself buffet that baffled them. He figured it was probably the later since most of them had gone to a school of four hundred plus students at some point. They would just have to get use to it. With as many people that normally gathered around their table, it was more efficient to just let everyone serve themselves from a buffet at a separate table. _Not to mention safer, _he thought. The Weasley children and the Grangers didn't seem to be having as much of a hard time. _Probably use to the large numbers of people._

Ricky chuckled when he remembered Molly Weasley's reaction to the chaos that was his family. People's reactions never failed to amuse him. He knew that a family the size of his wasn't normal anymore. When he was younger it was quite common for a family to have ten plus children. It was at a time when farming was the main source of income for many people and the more help they could get, the better. Then there were the baby boomers and he had to suppress a shudder at the thought of just _what_ had come from that generation.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts when he heard someone muttering under their breath. With his hearing, he had absolutely no trouble figuring out what was being said and had to cover his grin with a hand. Severus sat three seats down from him, glaring at his plate as if the pecan pie on it had wronged him in some way. Ricky, and any of his children that were gathered around the table, could hear him grumbling about _'barmy talking castles'_. Ricky sighed as he sat back and closed his eyes. _Just what did you do to the poor man? _He thought at the manor. He felt the flowing feeling in his mind that signaled her connecting with him and was immediately hit with strong concern.

_'I've done nothing except form a link with him. This one is going to need some serious mental and emotional help. I know part of your reason for taking him in here but you've got your work cut out for you. His scars go deep. It's going to take something powerful to crack him and until it happens he won't heal. But,' _Here she paused. _'he's a good person. Now we just have to get _him _to believe it.'_ Ricky could feel her already forming fondness for the man and smiled. He had a feeling that Severus would be gaining more from this training than just a new way of magic if Alena's reaction to him was any indication.

_'I believe Devon wishes to have a word with you, Richard.' _Ricky gave an aggravated sigh. Alena had called him Richard from the day he was born and no amount of pleading and begging would get her to do otherwise. He was sure she did it just to irritate him. He opened his eyes and looked to the strangely intent red headed man standing behind him.

"Did you need something, Devon?" He asked. Devon's clear blue eyes stared at him, unblinkingly, for a few moments before pointing to the blond haired teen sitting beside Severus.

"He will be staying with us." He said bluntly. Ricky blinked and looked over to said boy and was met with wide confused eyes. Indeed, farther down the table, Jeanne was looking at Devon with the same perplexed look. If Ricky was correct, and knowing Devon he was, they had not been informed of this decision. Ricky cleared his throat.

"Ah, have you asked _him_ if he wants to stay? It looks as though this is the first he has heard of it. Why do you want him to stay?" Devon tilted his head to the side and it looked like he was getting upset. Ricky knew Devon was getting frustrated at having to explain himself. Luckily Jeanne, sensing the problem, stood and walked over to her husband.

"He's not being mean Devon, he's just asking why." Devon just looked at the blond, who was by now fidgeting in his seat. Ricky noticed that Severus was staring suspiciously at Devon. Ricky made a note to figure out why later.

"He's suppose to be with us." At his softly spoken words, Ricky realized what was going on.

"How long ago did you see that?" He asked. Devon's eyes drifted to the ceiling and for a moment Ricky wasn't sure if he would get an answer.

"A few months." Jeanne let out an exasperated noise at his answer and walked over to Draco.

"You'll have to forgive my husband, Draco. He's autistic and doesn't understand that we don't automatically know the reasons behind his actions. Unfortunately, he also tends to demand something without asking first and then gets upset when we don't comply. What he was trying to say is that he wants you to stay with us instead of Ricky and Karan. I'm sure you'd still be on the same schedule as before except that you would be staying in our home. It is up to you though." She stated. On the other side of Draco, Serena stood and motioned for Jeanne to sit.

"You don't have to do that Serena." Jeanne said.

"I'm done. I've got to go down to Winder anyway. It's my turn to teach those morons how _not_ to drive." she said as she gathered her plate and silverware. Across the table, Tron snorted. Ricky was going to have to go and borrow his grand kids for a few nights so that the poor man and his wife could get some sleep. Tron's mismatched brown eyes, one dark brown the other a tawny color, had dark bags underneath and he was paler than normal. His son's labret ring glinted as a sneer crossed his face.

"So you're the reason they're failing? I _was_ wondering about that. Mind not sucking quite so badly? It makes it harder on the rest of us. And by _the rest of us_, I mean _me_." Ricky ran his hands down his face. Lack of sleep really didn't do Tron's already snarly attitude any good. Serena sniffed.

"I've given up on teaching the little shits how to drive. This is my attempt at reverse psychology and if it doesn't work I may just run them over myself. You're free to join them." The albino said with a smirk. She turned and pushed Jeanne into the seat, then grabbed her glass and _flounced_ out of the room. Ricky just sat back and shook his head. Underneath her aloft attitude, Serena was more than capable of holding her own against Tron. During this exchange, Draco had been looking at Severus as if asking what he should do. Severus watched as Serena left then turned to the blond and sighed.

"I'm not your father, Draco, and you're of age. If you want to go, then go." He said and returned to staring down at his, now empty, plate. Draco looked thoughtful for a moment then turned to Jeanne and nodded.

"I'll go."

"Good, don't want the Ferret here anyway." The red headed Weasley that had been hoovering over Harry all day, muttered from his place at the table. Several sets of eyes turned to glare at him, mostly the adults. Hermione, who was sitting to his left, reached over and cuffed him hard on the back of the head.

"Grow up or shut up, Ron." Ricky cleared his throat and stood.

"And on that note, lunch is over. For those of you who have places to be, it's probably a good idea to get to them. Don't want to leave the rugrats with each other for too long. No telling what kind of trouble they'd get into. Tron." Tron looked up to meet his eyes. "Why don't you and Aubree go and take another nap somewhere. I know you canceled all of your classes today so get some more sleep while you can." Tron nodded and stood. You could see in the way he moved that he was exhausted. His dirty dishes were grabbed out of his hands by Malakie.

"I'll get these, little brother, you go on." Ricky raised an eyebrow. Were they actually going to be, dare he hope, _nice_ to each other? His hopes, however, were shot down with Malakie's next statement. "Go get some rest so you're not so much of an ass." Ricky groaned as Karan walked up to him.

"You weren't actually expecting anything _else_ were you?" She asked with a giggle. He sighed in defeat and shook his head. She just smiled. "Well, come on and help me get our guests situated."

"Yes Ma'me." He followed her out of the room and into the chaos that was the kitchens. He smiled as Karan tore into Cara and Sara for starting what appeared to be a prank war with the Weasley twins. _I'm going to need medications after this._

_'You and I both.' _Was Alena's only reply.

ROA

Charlie stood looking out the large window at the vast fields and wooded areas that surrounded the Alden home. He hadn't asked just how much land they had but he suspected that it was a significantly large amount. Katerina walked up behind him with Autumn in her arms. She stepped up and looked out the window as well.

"Would you like a short tour? I know of something that is sure to keep you occupied." she said softly. "I had to ask Daddy and Ferean about it before I showed you or I would have earlier. Do you have a set time you need to be back home?" Charlie shook his head.

"Just sometime before midnight I guess. A tour sounds good, but I'd like something to drink before then." She nodded.

"Water is probably the best. Will that do?"

"Yes." She shifted her daughter around so that she could place her hand on the wall beside them.

"Timothy." She said. Charlie could feel a pulse go through the air around him. A few seconds later an older teenage boy with neon blue hair appeared beside them in a puff of white smoke. Charlie was still trying to get around the fact that these people were not the near squibs that the wizarding world believed. Katerina had explained some of it earlier and he couldn't find fault with their reasoning. People feared two things, the unknown and those more powerful than them. So long as the wizarding world was convinced that Base Casters posed no threat, they left them alone. Much like the relationship between the muggle world and the wizarding world actually. He was jerked from his thoughts as a glass of cool water was pushed into his hand. Katerina was smiling at him.

"Was it nice?" She asked. Charlie was confused and apparently it showed because she elaborated. "That place your mind wandered off to. Was it nice?" He gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry about that." She waved his apology off.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I was just wondering. I've been looking for a nice place to let my own wander off to once in a while. If you'll finish your drink we can get going." He nodded, still a bit embarrassed at being caught wool gathering, and finished his water. He went to hand it back to her but she shook her head and pointed at a tray sitting on a table across the hall.

"Put it there and Timothy will get it later. Follow me please." She lead him down more random hallways and down an almost dizzying spiral staircase before they came to a door that led outside. If he ever managed to go through this place without loosing his sense of direction, it would be a miracle. They walked for a while before they came to a stop on top of a small hill that overlooked a large open field surrounded by some of the largest stables he had ever seen.

"This is part of what I wanted to show you. You can see the stables and the east orchard from this place. Autumn and I like to picnic here when it's cooler." She then turned to him. "You know, there is a reason that our manor is called Alena. Have you ever heard of Alena Dragons?" She asked as she set her daughter down on the ground. Charlie looked up as he heard the screech of a bird from above them. Katerina held out her arm and the blue-gray colored peregrine falcon flew down to settle on her shoulder. He thought about her question. All he remembered about Alena Dragons had come from his favorite childhood story book. Children's books were about the only things that referenced them at all and no one took them seriously. You would get laughed off the reserve if you even mentioned them. He had seen it happen. He shrugged his shoulders.

"They were said to have existed during the time of Merlin. Supposedly, they were highly intelligent shape-shifters. Merlin was rumored to have had one as a familiar. That's about all I know. They're considered fairy tales so there isn't much available." He said cautiously. Katerina nodded with a smirk.

"Yes. That is the general consensus." She looked to the bird preening itself on her shoulder. "Nelena, if you would, please?" The falcon gave a huff then flew from her shoulder and landed on the ground a short distance away. Charlie gaped as before his eyes the falcon changed into a sixty foot dragon with glittering scales of light amethyst. It was a dragon unlike any he had ever seen before. He could see this laughter in it's glowing blue eyes as it looked at him and he was sure it was laughing at his reaction. Katerina walked up to it and it nuzzled her affectionately.

"Charlie, may I introduce my... familiar, Nelena. This Charlie, is an Alena Dragon."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Mrs. Rowlings creations. Everything and everyone else however are mine.

Sorry for the ridiculously late update. School and life tend to get in the way.

- Kris

Harry jumped a little as the door to the room he had picked swung open before he touched it. It would be a miracle if he _ever_ got use to the magical world. He was, however, surprised at the fact that most of the people he had seen around the manor were doing things mostly without the aid of magic. And not one glimpse of a house elf anywhere. At most he had seen human servants, one with almost neon blue hair. They had all seemed to be, if not happy, content with what they were doing.

As he flopped back onto the bed, a very comfortable bed he noted absently, he let his eyes close. From what he could tell, the guest wing was actually somewhere near the middle of the large castle-like manor and was seemingly unaffected by the heat outside. There were no windows either, at least in his room. He wasn't sure about the others. It was much like the dungeons at Hogwarts actually. _Huh, Snape should feel right at home here._

He had been shocked when he heard that Snape would be staying here as well. Of course, it made sense when he thought about it. With his cover as a spy blown, it wouldn't be wise for him to continue teaching. No telling what the Death Eater's children would be told to do. Harry wasn't sure what he should be feeling about that. No matter how horrid the man had been to him, Harry had never wished him dead. A little ill maybe, but nothing permanent. The fact that Snape had been a spy for almost as long as Harry had been alive did seem to merit some respect. It takes a special kind of bravery, or insanity, to be able to pull the wool over Voldemort's eyes for so long and still be alive. It was certain that Snape had one of the two in spades, though Harry didn't know _which_ one.

Harry realized, or rather hoped, he had fallen asleep when he opened his eyes to find himself standing face to face with the most beautiful looking dragon he had ever seen. Her, and somehow he knew it was a _her_, scales glittered in every color and shade of the rainbow. In fact, he would be willing to bet there were scales in colors outside of the visible spectrum in there somewhere. Her vivid blue eyes regarded him with something close to sympathy as he turned to look at his surroundings. He noticed that they were in an empty room. It took him a minute to realize that the elegant carved designs that covered all four walls were actually words. Granted it seemed to be a language he couldn't read. _Not that surprising really._ He heard a shuffle from behind him and remembered that he wasn't alone.

"Where are w..." his question died off as he turned around to find himself now facing a woman. From the rainbow colored scales running along her high cheekbones to the corners of her, now human eyes, he realized that the dragon had taken on a human form. Her hair was actually iridescent! He fought the sudden urge to giggle and pet the dragon woman's head. He didn't think she would appreciate that. She smiled at him.

_"Where is such a difficult thing to determine. Maybe you should be asking who I am instead of where you are. It's much easier to answer." _Harry blinked. He really didn't have an argument for that so he shrugged.

"Who are you?" He asked and blinked as her smile grew into a grin.

_"I am the… heart of the manor. You may call me Alena. I brought you here so we could talk. I felt that it would be less of a shock to do it this way. Have a seat."_ She motioned behind him to a chair that seemed to materialize up from the floor. He shrugged and sat down. This certainly wasn't the _strangest_ dream he had ever had. She seated herself on the floor in front of him. Her white gown, which Harry hadn't noticed before, being too entranced with her shiny hair, pooled around her. She gave him an indulgent smile.

_"I am rather distracting at times. It's one reason Richard seems to be such a… spacy kind of person. May I call you Harry?"_ she asked. Harry nodded absently, something from earlier was nagging at him but he was having trouble remembering exactly what it was. He shook his head and focused back on the entity in front of him. He was sure he would remember soon enough.

"Why am I here?" He asked looking around once more. Alena hummed before answering him.

_"The way I get to know a person is by going through their thoughts and memories. Much like Occulmancy really, though it's usually a much more pleasant experience. After I decide if the person is worthy, and safe, to be around my family I form a link to that person so that we can interact with each other. I have already formed a link with your professor though he seems to be a bit reluctant about it. I know of your recent trauma-" _Harry opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off by raising a hand _"Richard, or Ricky as you know him, has informed me. I will not speak of it to anyone else. That's not my place. However, I needed to know of it so that if something happens I will be able to help. The reason I brought you here is so that maybe it would be easier on you. I am asking for your permission to form a link with you. I ask because it will help me protect you and my family. It is up to you."_ Harry started to shrug before a thought struck him. He narrowed his eyes at Alena.

"You were the one who tripped me earlier." She smiled mischievously but said nothing. He sighed. "I guess I don't mind. You… won't tell anyone what you see, will you?" She considered him for a few moments before speaking.

_"As long as it's not harmful to yourself or others, I will speak of nothing. However, if I feel the need to inform Richard, I will. He is a healer by nature and very respectful of your privacy. He only wishes to help you, however, he will not force you into anything. It that acceptable?"_ Harry nodded. Alena stood and walked over to him. She cupped his cheek in her palm. He was sure his surprise at her touch made him closely resemble Hedwig but he didn't seem to be able to help it. For a non corporal dream being she was surprisingly soft and _warm_. He gasped softly as he felt a sensation he could only describe as running water, flow through his mind. Apparently, the only good that ever came from those terrible Occulmancy lessons with Professor Snape was that he recognized the feeling of someone shifting through his mind. She was right though. This was much nicer than his lessons had ever been. He could see the memories as she sifted through them but for some reason they were _fuzzy_. Especially his most recent ones. It was the same fog that seemed to be keeping him from feeling anything. Logically, he knew what happened to him and what reactions he should have been having, but they just weren't there. Thinking about it now, he should probably be worried about that. Harry could feel her anger simmering as she made her way through his childhood. This was one thing he had never truly shared with anyone. His childhood, while at the time didn't seem so different, now embarrassed him. He hadn't truly realized how _bad_ he was treated at the Dursley's until he had seen how Ron's family interacted. By that time, everyone had expected him to fit into the mold of the 'boy hero' and he just didn't want to deal with the backlash it would cause by breaking that ideal. He realized, with a start, that he had mentally wondered off when he felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him. He forced himself to relax – not hard really with the warmth radiating from Alena's form – and sunk into her embrace.

_"Life has not been good to you little one, but it will get better. It's time to wake up now, Harry…"_

Harry's mind was the first thing to snap into awareness. It took a few moments before any of the signals reached the rest of his body but eventually he managed to open his eyes. The darkness of the room was a little frightening until he remembered where he was. He let out a sigh before settling back down into the comforter. Turning his head to the right his eyes fell on the muggle alarm clock on the night stand. The softly glowing green letters read 3:42 A.M. Rolling his eyes, he sat up. It was going to take forever to get use to this time change. As his feet hit the ground the muggle style lighting system glowed softly to illuminate his bedroom. Most of the changes to the room surrounding him were subtle but defiantly there. He was surprised to find that Alena had changed the color scheme from earthy browns and tans to varying shades of blue and white. He had always been partial to the colors of the sky which was partially responsible for his love of flying. Whatever the reasons for the color change, it was soothing and Harry was grateful. He yawned and stretched before heading for the door. He paused as his hand reached for the door. He was quite certain that he had fallen asleep without changing into pajamas. _So... _-he looked down-Why then was he clad in a pair of dark green sleep pants and a t-shirt? He cleared his throat.

"Alena. Did you.. put me to bed?" And how weird was it to be asking a _castle_ that question.

_'I did. Promise I didn't look though.'_ he could feel her smirking. He tried, unsuccessfully, to fight down a blush. _'It's early still Harry, but your bookworm friend is awake if you can't sleep.'_

"Where is she? I didn't see where her room was last night." He asked as he opened his door and looked around the hall way. He noted that several of the doors around him had changed. The one directly across from his room was an odd purple color and had pictures of several different creatures he couldn't identify chasing each other around the door's surface. If he had to guess, that one was Luna's room. It would fit her. The door to the room on the right side of his room was Chudley Cannon orange and that could only be Ron's room. To the left of 'Luna's' door was a dark mahogany door with a carving of a book crossed by a wand and quill. Harry smiled. If that wasn't Hermione's room, he'd eat his own wand. A thought crossed his mind.

"Alena... these rooms..." He paused. "Did you do the same thing with them to change their rooms as you did to me?" Was it normal to feel jealous about this? He shook his head.

_'With the blond, yes. I have formed a bond with her. She interests me for reasons I can't tell. With the bookworm and the red head, no. I spoke with them but there will be no bond such as with you and Luna. And your bookworm is in the library right now. Follow the torches and I'll take you to her.' _Alena reassured him. He wasn't sure if he should be more upset that Alena _hadn't_ chosen Ron and Hermione or that _Luna_ had caught the manor's attention. It didn't make since to him, but then, not much was at the moment. He blinked at the sudden flare of a torch to his right and realized that he had spaced out again. Harry decided that it was far too early for him to be trying to figure out the workings of his own screwed up head, so he turned and softly padded down the hallway. As he was guided farther and farther down the dizzying maze of hallways, he grinned. Not even a full twenty four hours in a strange place and Hermione had already taken up residence in the library. Some things never change.

ROA

Severus groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. The lighting in the room had woken him from the first bit of actual sleep he had gotten all night and he wanted nothing more than to get back to that nice state of blissful nothingness.

_'Time to get up, sleepyhead!' _ Alena cooing at him was almost too much for his sleep deprived mind.

"No. It's your bloody fault I'm tired in the first place. If you hadn't dug around so much in here..." - he gestured to his head - "yesterday, I wouldn't have been up all night. There's a reason I keep all those memories locked up. Now leave me be." He grumbled. Severus was well aware that he was acting like a five year old, but after all the nightmares he'd had last night, he couldn't be bothered to care. Really, his temper was bad enough, there was no reason to add to it unnecessarily. Had it been possible, he would have shied away at the first brush against his mental shields. It almost felt like she was trying to hug him. He snarled.

"Do stop that. It's bad enough that I can't keep you out completely but-" he was cut off mid rant.

_'I am sorry for your nightmares.' _she stated and even he would be hard pressed to deny the genuine heart felt apology in her words. He closed his mouth and took a calming breath through his nose.

"It's not your fault..." No matter what everyone thought, he wasn't a needlessly cruel man. He could admit that he was... tough on Potter, but not without reason. The fact that in Hogwarts he was surrounded by the children of Death Eaters, _and occasionally an actual Death Eater, _meant thatone misstep in his words or actions would blow his cover. Another factor, and the biggest that Severus could see, was that Potter needed a counterbalance. Severus would have to have been blind to not see that Harry Potter and James Potter were completely different people. And Severus had been fully prepared for a mini carbon copy of James Potter to come strolling though the doors of the Great Hall seven years ago. Imagine his surprise and, yes, vague disappointment when he realized that Potter Jr. and Senior were nothing alike. Where the elder would have taken the fame in stride and used it to his advantage, the younger seemed to shy away from it. From his own childhood and from all the years of dealing with emotionally and physically abused Slytherins, Severus could see the signs of neglect in the Potter boy. While he had repeatedly told Albus it was unwise to send the boy back at the end of every year, the old man only stated that it was for the boy's own safety. _Not to mention the one time the old coot had suggested that I take him in. As if that would have ended up in something other than bloodshed. _Severus snorted. The old man may have everyone's best interest at heart but his methods lacked in many areas. For that reason lay the need of a counterbalance. Potter was thrust from a home where he was mentally and probably physically neglected into a world where people worshiped the ground he walked on. Being the hated 'dungeon bat' that he was, he could imagine what it would be like to go from ignored and hated to suddenly being in the spotlight. It would throw him completely off center. He hated to think what it would do to a child with that much raw power at their disposal. Yes, he could feel the difference he shared with Potter. The first time he had seen Potter cast a spell he had immediately felt it. Learning that he and the boy were Base Casters didn't come as that big of a shock really. His magic had always been different and, as of lately, erratic.

Severus cursed under his breath as he forced himself to sit up. Speaking of Base Casters he thought about the reason they were here right now. While he didn't hate the small raven haired child, Severus knew that his life had not allotted him the skill set needed to deal with what happened. The only way he knew to act was by evading, ignoring, or lashing out. Thankfully, he hadn't resorted to the last option yet. Though being forced to interact with her on a daily basis may change that. He didn't want to but it's not like he had any other examples growing up and he wasn't a kind man. The whole situation was just another example of how buggered his life truly was.

He shook his head as he headed for the closet to dress for the day. He could only hope that he could fulfill his promise to Albus and Lily and keep the boy safe. Merlin knows that child has absolutely no sense of self preservation. Taking on a troll at the age of eleven and a basilisk at twelve? _Really? _Not to mention the boy attracted trouble like a magnet. Teachers playing host to homicidal parasitic souls. Death Eaters posing as crazy ex-aurors. Werewolves and escaped convicts. _Of course,_ Severus thought, _I probably should have handled that last one a little better. _It didn't matter what the reason, Black robbed him of every last bit of sanity and reason any time their paths crossed. Though Black really couldn't do that anymore, could he? And that brought up a whole new set of problems concerning the Potter boy. Severus resisted the urge to slam his head into the wall.

"There's no way I'm going to survive this war. If the Dark Lord doesn't kill me, Potter will..." He muttered as he gathered his clothing and headed to the bathroom.

ROA

_'We'll see about that...' _Alena began humming to herself before she turned her attention to the Head of House. It was disturbingly fun to scare Richard out of bed so early in the morning. He knew such colorful and creative curses. Alena snickered. The foreseeable future was going to be very fun indeed.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Any and all Harry Potter characters and related places/objects/ideals/whatnot, are sadly, not mine. I'm also not making money off of this.

AN: Sorry this took so long. I promise that I'm not giving up on this thing. Life and school just get in my way. I'm also beta-ing this myself, so any mistakes are mine and I apologize.

Thank you for reading!

Kris

Chapter 8

Harry and Hermione, once he had finally convinced her that the library wasn't in fact going to disappear if she left it, walked into the kitchen that was located in the guest wing. The torches that had led them there went out with soft pops as they crossed into the room. Harry looked around. While the kitchen wasn't messy per say, it was certainly _well used_. There were freshly washed dishes left to drain on the counter beside the deep stainless steel, double sided sink and the smell of warm blueberry pancakes filled the air. Harry felt his stomach clench and let out a loud growl. Hermione startled when a soft giggle sounded from deeper in the kitchen.

"There is enough for the two of you. If you're interested." A familiar female voice wafted towards them. "I won't bite. Plates are in the cabinet above the dish drainer. Silverware in the drawer to the right of the stove. Glasses are in the cabinet above the silverware. Drinks are in the fridge. Unless someone's name is on it, it's fair game." Hermione glanced over at Harry and he shrugged as he went to get himself a plate.

"No one should ever turn down blueberry pancakes, Hermione. It's just not done." She gave him a look bordering on exasperated and followed his actions, eventually joining him at a table sitting in a small alcove just outside the kitchen. Harry watched as Hermione took in their breakfast companion. Long black hair, tired gray eyes, blue tinged lips -_Blue? That wasn't normal, was it?_- set in a porcelain face stared back at her with a look of borderline boredom. Like the small girl wearing the gothic styled black and green striped pajama set was more than use to being stared at. She did quite resemble some of the china dolls that Aunt Petunia kept atop the mantle. Except a bit more... _dark_ than Aunt Petunia would have ever stood for. The girl blinked and took another bite of her pancakes. When Harry saw the look on Hermione's face that she got when faced with some sort of puzzle that she wasn't quite sure how to piece together, he decided that the pancakes where much better than analyzing a person he had already met and stabbed a fork full from the plate in the center of the table. As he was pouring syrup over the delightful smelling pile of blueberry goodness -_he did have a certain fondness for blueberry pancakes-_ Hermione let out an almost choked sounding noise. The girl sitting across from them gave an amused snort.

"Figured it out yet?" She asked teasingly. Harry noted that she seemed to be tired, much like she had been at Hogwarts last week. Maybe not as bad, though it was difficult to know for sure. He took a big bite of his pancakes as he waited on the impending implosion. And yes, it would be an implosion because Hermione didn't blow up, her mind would cave in upon itself until there was nothing left but the sound of a _'pop'_. Actually, Harry was pretty sure that was the sound that the universe was going to make when it finally decided that it no longer wished to exist. A loud slurping noise closely followed by a soft popping sound. He waited for Hermione's reaction with a giddiness that only came from lack of sleep and whatever that _fuzzy_ thing in his head was. He could recognize the symptoms, sure, and he knew by the end of the day he stood the chance of being near catatonic. Hermione choose that moment to speak up however and his mind turned itself back to the people around him.

"D... do you have any... relatives... of _any_ kind... that work at Hogwarts?" Hermione's voice was halting as she asked her question, as if she was afraid of the answer. _And maybe_, Harry mused, _it was a well validated fear. _Bloody hell, even _he_ still had trouble believing the answer himself.

"I do. Continue your train of thought. Give me your guess. I assure you I won't be upset." The girl said softly as she made and held eye contact with the frizzy haired girl. Hermione took a deep breath and blurted out:

"Are you related to Professor Snape?"

The girl stared blankly at Hermione, making the bookworm squirm in her seat, until Harry snorted.

"May as well tell her, Ebony. It's not like it's going to be a secret much longer. Besides, I think she may just melt into a puddle of embarrassment soon if you don't." Hermione glared over at him but he just stared back at her with the most innocent look that he could be arsed to muster and ate another chunk of his breakfast. _Mmm... must ask for these more often._ He looked over at Ebony when he noticed the amused look she was giving him.

"I'll be sure to make more next time. You could stand to eat more of them, from the looks of you. It's disgusting what humans do to each other, really." At this Hermione's eyes grew wide, as if she couldn't believe the small girl had the nerve to bring up such a taboo subject. Harry knew that this should upset him, but the slow creep of the coming apathy took the bite out of it and he shrugged. Ebony took in Hermione's expressions and rolled her eyes. "There's no use in sugar coating it. It won't do any good. And yes. I am in fact related to Professor Snape." Hermione sputtered for a few seconds before she finally managed to get out a response.

"How-"

"He's my father."

And there was the reaction that Harry had been waiting on. Hermione's mouth moved as if she were trying to say something, but just couldn't manage it. If Harry were a betting man, and he wasn't because lets face it with his luck at attracting the scary psycho killers, any attempts at placing bets would probably result in him losing and being cooked in a large cauldron full of smelly six month old cooking oil. Or _winning_ and being cooked alive in a large cauldron of old cooking oil. Either way, nasty hot cooking oil, boiled alive, _betting is bad_. That established, Harry struggled to remember what his original train of thought was because the current one has derailed and gone frolicking away. _Oh yeah, betting man._ He was betting that this little piece of information had finally brought Hermione's brain to a screeching halt. He could imagine hearing a sound not unlike the horrid 'white noise' that came from the Dursley's telly when the tv station would cut out late at night. Ebony's tired eyes slid from Hermione's face to Harry.

"You're getting quite a bit of enjoyment out of this. Should I be worried?" Harry shook his head.

"I don't know. It's just not every day that you see Hermione have a mental meltdown like that. I've been waiting to see it for a while now." He said as he lightly poked Hermione in the ribs. She didn't react. Just sat there gaping and completely still.

"Harry, when was the last time you got a whole nights sleep?" Ebony asked softly. Harry scratched his head.

"I don't remember actually. I should probably go back to my room and try to take a nap. What about you? You don't look all that well either." He finished off his breakfast and pushed the plate away from him. Ebony shrugged.

"Oh, it's not really a lack of sleep. It's just going to be a bad day today. I think I'll probably end up spending the day lazing in bed. No lessons today so it should be fine." She stood and gathered her dishes. "Go to bed, Harry. You need it." She said as she walked over and placed her dishes in the sink. "And do see if you can't wake your friend from her stupor. No telling what will happen if you leave her like that." Ebony called over her shoulder as she exited the kitchen. Harry gave a small smile and proceed to poke Hermione in the ribs again, a little harder this time. A nap sounded really good.

_If only Hermione would snap out of it._

ROA

After spending most of the day acquainting himself with the small potions lab, and _small_ was only in relation to the _other_ lab, that he had been granted the permission of using, Severus found himself wondering through the immense library. He had to admit that he was suitably impressed. Two stories of wall to wall books easily put Hogwarts to shame. And while the collection of Magical texts was quite amazing, some being more than a few centuries old, it was the collection of Non Magical and Muggle books that made him gape.

He reverently took a rather well worn leather bound book from the shelf above his head. His lips twitched up in a barely restrained smile as he traced his fingers along the author's name. Severus had never mentioned it -_only one person at Hogwarts had ever even noticed it_- but he had great love for the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It had been an almost obsessive kind of love in his youth. When things had gotten out of hand at home, he would grab his battered copy of 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' and sneak down to the park to read. Severus had always appreciated intelligence, whether or not it was magical, and Sherlock Holmes would forever hold a special place in Severus's heart. Upon closer inspection, Severus was pleased to note that the book in his hand was the complete collection. He carefully tucked the book into the crook of his arm and continued perusing the rest of the books on this row of shelves.

He was busy admiring a first edition copy of Dracula, in almost mint condition no less, when the faint tinkling noise he associated with the Alden monarch reached his ears. He straightened as the petite blond woman walked up to him. Severus could admit that she was indeed very beautiful and had a pixy like quality to her if one looked closely enough. It was a trait that she had passed down to all of her children as well. She was smiling at him, which was still a bit awkward as _no one_ ever seemed to be happy to see him, and looking at the book still held tightly in his arms.

"I came to see how you were doing, Master Snape. I always find it a little unsettling to be dumped into a new place and wanted to make sure everyone was adjusting okay." She said softly. Severus blinked.

This woman's gentleness and easy going nature lent themselves to an almost tangible aura of _comfort_ that blanketed whatever area she was in. He had noticed it when he first came in contact with the basecaster and was hard pressed to deny that it had some form of effect on him. He had felt something similar on the rare occasions when his mother hadn't been fighting or upset and assumed that maybe this was how a mother was suppose to be. He wouldn't know for sure, his own mother having spent most of his childhood cowering to a raging drunk before finally dieing from an 'accidental' tumble down the stairs. One of the main reasons that he was glad that his progenitor was well and truly dead.

Severus gave the blond a nod and a distracted affirmative noise. It was the best he could do at the moment. Since the manor had rooted around in his head the day before, he was finding himself being drawn into his memories at random times. Things he would have preferred to keep locked away for the rest of his life.

The death of his mother was one of those.

No one bothered to question the accident, the result of too many trips to the hospital where his mother was suddenly clumsy with a tendency to walk into doors. As his father abhorred the magical world, and his wife and son in turn, they had to manage with muggle hospitals where they lacked the ability to reliably obtain the truth about her wounds. They could suspect all they wanted but unless his mother admitted what happened, they couldn't do anything. And of course she wouldn't and had made Severus promise to keep quiet as well. He had never understood it, why someone would willingly stay in such an abusive relationship when they had the power to get out. If his mother had used her magic there would have been no way the man could have found them. He had always held some sort of resentment against her for not getting the both of them away from him. Of course, now that he was older and a lot less naive, he could understand it a bit better. After all, he had willingly bound himself to a monster and later on to an old man with the tendency to forget that his pawns were actually people underneath. Granted, most of them were irrevocably bruised and cracked, but still people none the less. He had bound himself to a madman in hopes of finding a place to belong and then to the Headmaster when he realized that the cost of fitting in would -_and had_- cost him dearly. He supposed that while it wasn't a healthy or good reason, his mother had stayed for a reason, and he could hardly complain about her choices when his were much worse.

Severus started slightly as he realized that he was gently being guided to a pair of chairs hidden at the end of the row of bookshelves. This getting lost in memory thing could end up badly and he hoped that he could get his mind under control soon. He took the seat that he was directed to. Mrs. Alden studied him for a few moments before speaking.

"Master Snape-" She started. Severus knew that was his full and hard earned title and while it was nice to have that recognized, it felt wrong for some reason to be addressed that way by this woman.

"Severus, please." He said and the answering smile warmed him, if only a little.

"Severus then." She paused as if trying to find a way to word her thoughts. "What are your thoughts on fate? Do you believe in it?" She asked. Severus frowned and thought for a moment.

"No. Fate means that whatever happens was already planed and will happen no matter what. If that's true, then why have free will at all? Why have the ability to choose when it doesn't matter?" He shook his head. "Why are you asking?"

"Hmm... That's a way to look at it, very practical. However, I wonder if maybe you couldn't look at it the other way around. Maybe... it's our choices that create our fate. Sometimes those choices can be small, say choosing not to drink that milk that expired three days ago because for whatever reason you lack the ability to smell or taste rotten milk, or big like whether or not to continue on to a University after completing your lower level schooling. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think fate is a _cause_, I think it's a _result_ and as with any experiment the result can be changed by tweaking the factors. Of course, there are always uncontrolled variables, the choices of others obviously. But you have to be able to anticipate and accommodate those outside influences, it's a trait any good scientist or potions master has to possess." She locked eyes with him. "Severus, I'm not going to pretend to know anything about your life. And while I am always willing to listen and help where I can, I won't push until you've decided you're ready. That said, I can tell that life has not presented you with many easy choices and those have taken their toll on you. And I meant what I said about having a place with us. Should you choose it, you'll always have a place here. The same goes for the rest of your group, though it does seem that the Fletures have taken a liking to that godson of yours." She said with a smile as she stood. "You know, if fate is what's going to happen, our future if you will, and our choices shape our future, then perhaps fate isn't so much a set in stone thing. Think about it Severus." She started to walk away but paused and turned back to him.

"Any idea how to pry a bookworm away from her nest? It's almost time for dinner." She asked with a grin. Severus could only guess that she meant Miss. Granger. He considered for a moment before smirking and standing as well.

"I may know a way to scare her out." he said as he strode over to her. Mrs. Alden's snicker almost made him smile. He was feeling a bit playful, as it were, and it was something he felt that maybe, given time, he could get use to.

He even allowed himself a tiny lift at the corners of his lips at the Gryffindor's startled yelp and jump in reaction to, what he considered, his _'not again Longbottom'_ voice.

As he accompanied Karan Alden while she gathered everyone together for dinner, much like a mother hen and her chicks, he thought that maybe having a place with these people wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

ROA

_It's not fair. He was hers. She had been dreaming of it from the moment she had met him. She spent years trying to get him to notice her and when that didn't work, she just flat out told him. It was obvious that they were soulmates. Why couldn't he see that? _

_Sister? He saw her as a SISTER? She had enough brothers, she didn't bloody well need another! After he rejected her, and also after she had calmed down and thought about it, it had been obvious that he just needed time for it to sink in. But now he was ignoring her. It was one thing to be rejected by the love of your life, but to have them completely ignore you? It was outrageous! _

_No. Calm down. She'll have him eventually. They were soulmates, after all. She just needed to be patient and wait._

AN2: The thing with the milk is real. I can't taste or smell rotten milk until it's chunky and then it's pretty self explanatory. Kind of gross but true. Also, Harry's loopy-ness at not sleeping well is based off my self as well. I get weird with lack of sleep. Coincidentally, I wrote the first half of this chapter on lack of sleep and it shows. Hope you like it. Thanks again for reading.


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